Page 201 - 1975 BoSox

DEPENDING ON HOW YOU spell it, or sometimes how you pro- nounce it, Boston has enjoyed its
share of “Miller Time” for many seasons. In recent years the Red Sox have employed pitchers Andrew and Wade Miller, third baseman Bill Mueller (pro- nounced Miller) and rst baseman Kevin Millar (OK, close enough). In past history there were also out elder Hack Miller of the 1918 world champs, third baseman Otto Miller of the early 1930s, and out elder Bing Miller of the mid-’30s. And don’t forget broadcaster Jon Miller (1980-82).
However, there’s no question that for longevity pur- poses and overall production, the best known of the bunch was a eet-footed left-handed batting out elder by the name of Rick Miller, whose 12 seasons with the Red Sox were interrupted by a three-year stretch with the California Angels.
Richard Alan Miller was born on April 19, 1948, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Irving and Marguerite Miller. Irving Miller was an outstanding center for the Union High School football team in Grand Rapids in the late 1920s, in his day playing opposite Gerald Ford while the future president was a student at South High School in Grand Rapids.
Rick Miller began playing baseball at the age of 9 in the Grand Rapids Little League program. While he acknowledged that both parents were very supportive of his athletic endeavors, his father was
also his biggest critic. “He’d say things like ‘Don’t get a big head; if you go four- for- ve, what happened the fth time,” he recalled in an interview with the author. e Millers had withstood a family tragedy before Rick was born; a brother Arlan had died of leukemia at the age of 5.
While Miller’s sports idols while growing up were Tigers Hall of Fame out elder Al Kaline and Detroit hockey great Gordie Howe, Rick’s brother Irving II provided the yardstick by which the younger Miller would be measured.
In 1956 Irving, a three-sport standout at Union High, was named Most Valuable Athlete from the 10 Class A high schools that comprised Grand Rapids. Exactly ten years later, Rick — a football, basketball, and base- ball star — received the same award. “It was quite an achievement, probably something that I’m most proud of through all the things I did in sports,” he said, noting that he was a pitcher and out elder at Union, where he had the most wins and the lowest ERA in the city in 1966.
Miller was invited to a pregame workout with the Detroit Tigers in the summer of 1966 along with a fellow high-school standout, Ted Simmons, where he had the chance to meet his boyhood hero Kaline.
“I even hit a few home runs there,” Miller said. “I was amazed at how easy it was to hit home runs at Tiger Stadium,” he added, noting the old short porch in right eld.
Two years later Simmons began a 17-year major-league career as a catcher with the St. Louis Cardinals.
After high school, Miller won a baseball scholarship to Michigan State, where he also played one year as a walk-on with the basketball team, winning a starting guard position. However, an ankle injury forced him to curtail basketball to concentrate
on baseball.
An All-American at Michigan State, Miller was converted from a pitcher to an outfielder, under coach Danny Litwhiler, an 11-year major-league out-
Rick Miller
By Mike Richard
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