Zachary Charles Miner (born March 12, 1982) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 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) for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the Lamigo Monkeys.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Standing at 6 foot 3 inches and 205 pounds, Miner had no previous college experience before playing minor and major league baseball. He did, however, play high school baseball for

Palm Beach Gardens Community High School Palm Beach Gardens Community High School is a public magnet high school for grades 9–12 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The school mascot is the Gator. It was built in 1968 as a public high school. The original school was demolished and a new sc ...

. Miner was a fourth round pick by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, and in 2000, he received the second-team All-American pitcher award, and had been offered a full ride to

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

. Miner spent 2001–2004 in the Braves minor league system, pitching for the Single-A

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team pla ...

(2001), Class-A

Macon Braves Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia * Macon, Illinois *Macon ...

(2002), Single-A

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

(2003), and Double-A Greenville Braves (2004). 2005 found him with the Double-A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

, but after four games he was promoted to the Triple-A Richmond Braves. Miner started 17 games for the Braves, going 2–7 with a 4.23 ERA. On July 31, 2005, the Braves traded Miner along with relief pitcher

Román Colón Román Benedicto Colón (born August 13, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He is tall and weighs . Colón bats and throws right-handed. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and ...

to the Detroit Tigers for setup man/ closer

Kyle Farnsworth Kyle Lynn Farnsworth (born April 14, 1976) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Chicago Cubs (1999–2004), Detroit Tigers (2005, 2008), Atlanta Braves (2005, 2010), New York Yankees (2006–2008), Kansas City Royals (2 ...

Detroit Tigers

Miner did not make the 25-man roster at the end of the 2006 spring training, but he was called up to the Tigers in May 2006 to replace the injured

Mike Maroth Michael Warren Maroth (born August 17, 1977) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher and current pitching coach for the UCF Knights. Born in Orlando, Florida, and after attending the University of Central Florida, th ...

. He was a reliable 5th starter but was moved to the bullpen near the end of the season. He was on the Tigers playoff roster as a reliever. He pitched once in the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Lea ...

against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. In 2007 Zach started the season in Triple A Toledo, but was called up on May 17, and made a spot start against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

in place of the sick

. After a brief return to Toledo, Miner was called up to help in the bullpen. He finished the season 3–4 while pitching in 34 games. Zach allowed 22 runs, 18 earned, through innings. Miner started the 2008 season with the Tigers, but was sent to Toledo July 2 after

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

four batters in two innings in a loss to the Minnesota Twins. On July 21, Miner returned to the Tigers as a starter against the Kansas City Royals. Miner pitched six shutout innings in the Tigers 19–4 victory. In April 2009, Miner came off a strong start in his first outing of the season to being roughed up in his second outing against the White Sox. In this game, he allowed back to back home runs to

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

and

Paul Konerko Paul Henry Konerko (; born March 5, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1997 to 2014, most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he was a si ...

- the 300th of each man's career. Miner underwent Tommy John surgery in June, 2010 and missed the entire 2010 season, after which he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

Kansas City Royals

Miner signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on December 31, 2010.

Detroit Tigers

On April 20, 2012, Miner was traded back to the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations.

Philadelphia Phillies

Miner signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia in December 2012. He received a call up to the big leagues on August 3, and on September 20, joined the Phillies

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 ...

after

Kyle Kendrick Kyle Rodney Kendrick (born August 26, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kendrick was born in Houston, Texas ...

was shut down for the remainder of the season. He elected free agency on October 8. He was outrighted off the roster on October 3, 2013.

Seattle Mariners

Miner signed a minor league deal with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

on February 13, 2014. He was released on June 9, 2014.

Lamigo Monkeys

Shortly after his release from the Mariners, Miner signed with the Lamigo Monkeys of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miner, Zach 1982 births American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Living people Detroit Tigers players Philadelphia Phillies players Erie SeaWolves players Greenville Braves players Jamestown Jammers players Macon Braves players Baseball players from St. Louis Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Richmond Braves players Toledo Mud Hens players Gulf Coast Tigers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Tacoma Rainiers players Lamigo Monkeys players