Robert John Miller (born June 16, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

), is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 player, a right-handed pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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 a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 who appeared in the Major Leagues

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 from to for the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

. Miller was a member of the 1950 "Whiz Kids,"

1950 Philadelphia Phillies season

The Philadelphia Phillies won the National League pennant by two games over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Nicknamed the "Whiz Kids" because of the youth of their roster, they went on to lose the World Series to the New York Yankees in four straight games....

 only the second Phillies team to win a National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 pennant in history.

Miller served in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in the Pacific Theater of Operations

Pacific Theater of Operations

The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...

, then attended the University of Detroit

University of Detroit Mercy

University of Detroit Mercy is a private, Roman Catholic co-educational university in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with the Society of Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy. Antoine M. Garibaldi is the president. With origins dating from 1877, it is the largest Roman Catholic university...

. He signed with the Phillies in 1948 and after winning 19 games for the Class B Terre Haute Phillies

Terre Haute Phillies

The Terre Haute Phillies were a baseball team in Terre Haute, Indiana from 1946-1954. They were a Three-I League team affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies. Their games were played at Memorial Stadium ballpark in Terre Haute.-Year-by-year record:...

 he was recalled to Philadelphia in September 1949. Miller pitched 2⅔ scoreless innings in relief

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 that year.

The following season, not quite 24, he became a member of the youthful Phillies' pitching staff. He appeared in 35 games played

Games played

Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

, 22 as a starter

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

, and won 11 of 17 decisions

Decision (baseball)

A decision is a statistical credit given to a baseball pitcher.There are two types of decisions: win and loss.In order to receive a win, the starting pitcher must complete at least five innings and leave with the lead. If the pitcher's lead is preserved by the bullpen, he is credited with a win...

 with an earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 of 3.57 in 174 innings pitched

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

. Although not as celebrated as fellow young pitchers Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons

Curt Simmons

Curtis Thomas "Curt" Simmons is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1947–50 and 1952-67. With right-hander Robin Roberts, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Simmons was one of the twin anchors of the starting rotation of the "Whiz Kids", the Philadelphia Phillies' ...

, Miller ranked third on the staff in innings pitched and fourth in victories. He hurled seven complete games and notched two shutouts. He started Game 4 of the 1950 World Series

1950 World Series

The 1950 World Series was the 47th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as 1950 champions of the National League and the New York Yankees, as 1950 American League champions, competed to win a best-of-seven...

, but faced only four batters and recorded only one out

Out (baseball)

In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive, or fielding, team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a player is called out, he is said to be retired...

, and took the loss in a 5–2 New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 victory that cemented a four-game sweep for the Bombers.

Miller spent parts of 1951 and 1952 in minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 but regained his effectiveness to post productive seasons for the Phillies from 1953–1957. Altogether, he worked in 261 MLB games, split 84 decisions, and surrendered 889 hits

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

 and 247 bases on balls in 822 innings pitched. He struck out

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

 263.

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