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Norm Miller (baseball)

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Norm Miller
Right fielder
Born: (1946-02-05) February 5, 1946 (age 78)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 11, 1965, for the Houston Astros
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1974, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average.238
Home runs24
Runs batted in159
Teams

Norman Calvin Miller (born February 5, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1965 to 1974 for the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves. Later in his career he served in the Astros' front office.

Biography

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Miller was born in Los Angeles, California, attended Van Nuys High School (class of 1964) in Van Nuys, California, and is Jewish.[1][2][3][4] He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).

Originally signed out of high school by the Los Angeles Angels as a second baseman, at 18 years of age he batted .301/.446 (5th in the league)/.525 (8th) for the Quad City Angels in the Midwest League in 1964, and was selected by the Houston Astros in the 1964 Rule 5 draft, after which he switched to the outfield.[5][6] He began 1965 batting .289/.406 (7th in the league)/.492 (7th) with 89 walks (leading the league), 84 runs (5th), 20 home runs (4th), and 92 RBIs (3rd) for the Amarillo Sonics in the Texas League.[7]

When he made his major league debut in 1965, he was the sixth-youngest player in the National League.[8] His career was curtailed by a back injury, and he retired at the age of 28.[9] Miller appeared in 540 games and notched 325 hits as a Major Leaguer.[8]

Miller scored the winning run[10] in the famous 1968 1-0 24-inning game[11] between the Astros and New York Mets, when Bob Aspromonte's bases-loaded ground ball went through the legs of Met shortstop Al Weis for an error. He was traded from the Astros to the Braves for Cecil Upshaw on April 22, 1973.[12]

In 2004, Miller opened Camp Hardball, a baseball school.[13]

In 2009, Miller published a memoir entitled To All My Fans From 'Norm Who'?.[5][14] Miller serves as a sports radio host on Saturdays on KILT-AM.

In 2014 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz (2001). The Big Book of Jewish Baseball
  2. ^ "Norm Miller Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "Big League Jews". Jewish Sports Review. 12 (137): 20. January–February 2020.
  4. ^ Horvitz, Peter S.; Horvitz, Joachim (August 4, 2001). The Big Book of Jewish Baseball. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719730 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b Dan Epstein (April 26, 2016). "Norm Miller Q/A: A most interesting career; Memorable moments and encounter with Antisemitism".
  6. ^ "1964 Midwest League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "1965 Texas League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ a b "Norm Miller Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "Former Astro puts down bat, picks up pen". The Houston Chronicle. December 14, 2009. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  10. ^ "Mets' error allows run".
  11. ^ "New York Mets at Houston Astros Box Score, April 15, 1968". Baseball-Reference.com.
  12. ^ "Atlanta trades Upshaw to Astros," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, April 23, 1973. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Culver, Ryan (September 8, 2004). "Former major leaguer opens baseball school". Houston Chronicle.
  14. ^ Norm Miller (2009). To All My Fans from Norm Who?
  15. ^ "NORM MILLER; Baseball - 2014". Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
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