Tom McMillan (baseball player)
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Thomas Erwin McMillan (born September 13, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned seven seasons, including one in Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners (1977). As a member of the inaugural Mariners team, McMillan, a shortstop, went hitless in five
at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
. The majority of his career was spent in the
minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
. After he was drafted out of Jacksonville University by the Cleveland Indians during the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft, McMillan made his professional debut that year with the Double-A San Antonio Brewers. Over his minor league career, McMillan played with the Double-A San Antonio Brewers (1973), Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers (1973–75), the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens (1976), the Triple-A Iowa Oaks (1976), the Triple-A
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...
(1977), the Triple-A
Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...
(1977), the Triple-A San Jose Missions (1977), and the Double-A Buffalo Bisons (1978). In 711 minor league career games, McMillan batted .252 with 591 hits, 74 doubles, 24
triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
, and 10 home runs.


Early life

McMillan was born on September 13, 1951 in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
. He attended Jacksonville University from 1970 to 1973, where he played college baseball for the Dolphins under head coach Barry Myers. McMillan played shortstop on the school's baseball team. In the winter of 1972, McMillan played with the United States national baseball team during the
Amateur World Series The Baseball World Cup was an international tournament where national baseball teams from around the world competed. It was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). Along with the World Baseball Classic, it was one of two activ ...
in Managua, Nicaragua. During the series, he batted .308 with 20 hits, 15 runs, five doubles and six stolen bases. The U.S. team went on to place second. McMillan was the only member of the U.S. team to win All-World honors. After the 1972 season, he played
collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
with the Chatham A's of the
Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
and was named a league all-star. During his
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
season, McMillan batted .305 with 57
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
, four home runs, and 28
stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
s. He set a school record for career stolen bases with 141, almost doubling the previous record. During the second round of the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft, McMillan was drafted by the Cleveland Indians.


Professional career


1973–76 seasons

After being drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1973, McMillan made his professional baseball debut that season in the Indians
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
organization, playing with the Double-A San Antonio Brewers of the Texas League. With San Antonio, he batted .231 with 13
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
, 24 hits, two doubles, four runs batted in (RBIs), and five stolen bases in 44
games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...
. That year, McMillan also played 10 games at the Triple-A level, with the Oklahoma City 89ers. In those games, McMillan batted .316 with 12 hits in 38
at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...
s. With both team, he was used as a shortstop defensively. In 1974, McMillan played the entire season with the Oklahoma City 89ers. He batted .258 with 59 runs scored, 115 hits, 11 doubles, five
triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
, one home run, 37 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 128 games played. All of his 127 games in the field were spent at the shortstop position. McMillan continued playing with the Oklahoma City 89ers of the
American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...
in 1975. That season, he batted .249 with 66 runs scored, 125 hits, 14 doubles, five triples, two home runs, 58 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases in 136 games played. McMillan's final season in the Cleveland Indians minor league organization was during the 1976 season when he played with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens of the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
. With the Mud Hens, he batted .243 with 57 runs scored, 91 hits, 11 doubles, five triples, three home runs, 40 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in 107 games played. That season, McMillan joined the Chicago White Sox organization in an unknown transaction. Upon joining their organization, he was assigned to play with the Triple-A Iowa Oaks of the American Association. In 23 games played with the Oaks, McMillan batted .207 with 13 runs scored, 17 hits, one triple, one RBI, and one stolen base. Between the two clubs, he played 129 defensive games at the shortstop position.


1977 season

During the
1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1976 MLB Expansion Draft was held November 5, 1976. This expansion draft was conducted by Major League Baseball to stock the major league rosters of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, new major league expansion franchises establis ...
, McMillan was selected by the Seattle Mariners. Before the start of the 1977 season, the Mariners sent him to the Triple-A
Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...
. Rochester was affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, but the Mariners did not have a Triple-A affiliate at the time. With the Red Wings, McMillan batted .274 with 12 runs scored, 26 hits, three doubles, two triples, and 12 RBIs in 39 games played. Defensively, McMillan played 21 games at second base, 17 games at shortstop, and three games at third base. He was then transferred to the Triple-A
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...
, who were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals at the time. In 24 games with New Orleans, McMillan batted .260 with seven runs scored, 13 hits, three doubles, one triple, and two RBIs. In the field, he played 14 games at shortstop and six games at second base. McMillan was a
September call-up A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...
for the Mariners in 1977. He made his debut in Major League Baseball (MLB) on September 17, against the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
at Kaufman Stadium. In that game, he did not have a
plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...
. At the time of his debut, he became the first attendee of Jacksonville University to make an MLB debut. His offensive debut would come on September 21, against the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
at
County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packer ...
. In five at-bats, McMillan went hitless. It would prove to be his final MLB game. Defensively during his two games with the Mariners, McMillan played shortstop, committing no errors, while making one assist and two
putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...
s.


Later career

In 1978, McMillan played the entire season in the minor leagues with the San Jose Missions, who were the Seattle Mariners Triple-A affiliate at the time. With the Missions, McMillan batted .256 with 38 runs scored, 83 hits, 13 doubles, three triples, one home run, 27 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. In the field, he played 90 games at shortstop, three games in the outfield, and two games at second base. He was traded along with Enrique Romo and Rick Jones from the Mariners to 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 ...
for Mario Mendoza, Odell Jones and Rafael Vásquez at the Winter Meetings on December 5, 1978."Falcone to Mets, Romo to Bucs," ''St. Petersburg'' (FL) ''Times'', Wednesday, December 6, 1978.
Retrieved October 21, 2022.
McMillan's final season in professional baseball came in 1979, as a member of the Pirates' Double-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons. With the Bisons, who were in the Eastern League, McMillan batted .254 with 49 runs scored, 85 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 35 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 97 games played. McMillan played 90 games at shortstop, and another seven at second base.


References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Tom 1951 births Living people Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chatham Anglers players Iowa Oaks players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball players Major League Baseball shortstops New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Oklahoma City 89ers players Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Brewers players San Jose Missions players Seattle Mariners players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players Winter Haven Super Sox players