Kurt Everett Miller (born August 24, 1972) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played parts of five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), between 1994 and 1999, for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. He also played in two seasons in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB), in 1999 and 2000, for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

Playing career

Early career

Miller was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

out of West High School in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

, with the 5th overall pick in the

1990 MLB Draft The 1990 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

. A little over a year later, he was traded to the Texas Rangers with fellow pitching prospect

Héctor Fajardo Héctor Fajardo Navarrete (born November 16, 1970) is a Mexican former Major League Baseball player. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers in a career that spanned four years, from 1991 to 1995. Baseball career Minor leagu ...

for

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Steve Buechele Steven Bernard Buechele (born September 26, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman, coach, and current front office executive for the Texas Rangers. Buechele played from to for the Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...

. He spent nearly two seasons in the Rangers organization before being traded again, this time to the

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

Marlins, again with another pitching prospect, this time

Robb Nen Robb Allen Nen (born November 28, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He spent most of his career as a closer. He is the son of former major league first baseman Dick Nen. He currently works in the Giants' front ...

, for pitcher

Cris Carpenter Cris Howell Carpenter (born April 5, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers from 1988 to 1996. Amateur career A nati ...

Marlins

Miller finished the 1993 season with the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

, the Marlins' Triple-A farm team. He began the 1994 season with Edmonton as well, but was called up to the major leagues in June to replace the injured Mark Gardner in the

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

. He made his MLB debut at age 20 on June 11 against the team that had drafted him, the Pirates. He gave up 7 runs on 9 hits in just 4

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He improved substantially in his next start, throwing 8.2 innings against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and giving up just 4 hits. However, after two more bad starts he was returned to the minor leagues. Miller's minor league numbers in 1994 were not impressive, either. He won 7 games and lost 13 while posting an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 6.88. The next season, with the Marlins' new top farm club the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

, Miller's numbers improved to 8–11 with a 4.62 ERA. Miller began the 1996 season back in Charlotte, but he was called up in early May. After pitching one game in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, the first time he had appeared in the majors as a reliever and just his fifth professional relief appearance, he was moved back into the rotation to replace

Chris Hammond Christopher Andrew Hammond (born January 21, 1966) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Hammond was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth round of the amateur draft. Hammond had not sustained considerable success unt ...

. His first start was a good one, giving up just one run in eight innings against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, but after two less-successful starts he was sent back to the bullpen. He was subsequently returned to Charlotte in mid-July, where he returned to starting. He came back to the majors a month later, made two more starts, then spent September in the bullpen. In 26 major league games, Miller posted a record of 1–3 with an ERA of 6.80. Miller spent most of 1997 in Charlotte, missing a chunk of the season due to an elbow injury. He returned to the Marlins to pitch 7 games in September, but gave up 8 runs in 7.1 innings. After the season, he was traded to the Cubs.

Remaining career

Miller was assigned to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

to start the 1998 season, and he responded with his best season at that level, going 14–3 with a 3.81 ERA. He was brought up to the majors in late September, and pitched four scoreless innings over three games. He made the 1999 Cubs out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, but pitched in just four games before suffering a ribcage injury. He came back to pitch in eight games in Iowa, and in June, he was allowed to go to Japan and sign with Hanshin. Miller returned to starting with the Tigers, appearing in 11 games and posting a 2–4 record with a 5.98 ERA. The next season, the Tigers tried to use him as their closer, and he posted 6 saves in his first 17 games, but he also gave up 15 runs on 17 hits and 11 walks with a 7.41 ERA. He was released after the season.

Notes

External links

Foreign Pitching Stats K-M at Japan Baseball Daily
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Kurt 1972 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Augusta Pirates players Baseball players from Tucson, Arizona Brevard County Manatees players Charlotte Knights players Charlotte Rangers players Chicago Cubs players Edmonton Trappers players Florida Marlins players Hanshin Tigers players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Tulsa Drillers players Welland Pirates players