| Kevin Millwood | |
|---|---|
 Millwood with the Seattle Mariners in 2012 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1974-12-24)December 24, 1974 (age 50) Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 14, 1997, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 12, 2012, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 169–152 |
| Earned run average | 4.11 |
| Strikeouts | 2,083 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theAtlanta Braves,Philadelphia Phillies,Cleveland Indians,Texas Rangers,Baltimore Orioles,Colorado Rockies andSeattle Mariners.
While with the Braves, Millwood was part of a pitching rotation which featuredGreg Maddux,Tom Glavine andJohn Smoltz. In1999 he was selected to his onlyAll-Star Game and helped lead the Braves to the1999 World Series and two seasons later the2001 National League Championship Series. As a member of the Indians, his 2.86ERA led allAmerican League pitchers. In 2012, Millwood became the 67th pitcher to record 2,000 careerstrikeouts.
Millwood was raised by Kathy Coplen and Bill Millwood inBessemer City, North Carolina.[1] He attendedBessemer City High School where he played baseball,basketball andfootball. As a basketball player, he scored 1,000 points for the Bessemer City Yellow Jackets.[2] Milwood missed the beginning of every high school baseball season in order to finish the basketball season and did not expect to be drafted by a professional baseball team out of high school.[3]
Millwood was drafted by theAtlanta Braves in the 11th round of the1993 MLB draft. After four years in theminors, Millwood made his debut with the Atlanta Braves on July 14, 1997. A year later, hewon 17 games. Millwood formed a part of the Braves' star pitching rotation, which also consisted ofGreg Maddux,John Smoltz andTom Glavine. According toNate Silver, the 1997 Braves starting rotation was the best in the history of baseball as of the 2010 season.[4]
In 1999, Millwood posted career-highs in wins (18, also achieved in 2002),earned run average (2.68),strikeouts (205) andWHIP (0.996). He finished third in the National LeagueCy Young Award voting (losing to theArizona Diamondbacks'Randy Johnson) and 26th on the National LeagueMVP ballot. He was selected as anAll-Star in1999, his only appearance in the Midsummer Classic.
Before the 2003 season, Millwood was traded by the Braves to thePhiladelphia Phillies forcatcherJohnny Estrada in order to cut their payroll in the midst of economic difficulties. He went 14-12 with his new team, including throwing ano-hitter against theSan Francisco Giants on April 27 coming in the Phillies' final season atVeterans Stadium (this was one of only two no-hitters ever thrown at the now-demolished stadium). He also led the majors instolen bases allowed, with 41.
In 2005, Millwood signed a one-year contract as afree agent with theCleveland Indians. He came back from injury well, leading theAmerican League in ERA (2.86). However, he managed a record of only 9—11, due to poor run support.[5] In 2005, Millwood again led the majors instolen bases allowed, with 33. He finished tied for sixth in balloting for the AL Cy Young Award.[6]
On December 26, 2005, theTexas Rangers signed Millwood to a five-year, $60 million deal.[7]
In 2006, he andVicente Padilla won 15 games; a total not matched by a Rangers pitcher untilScott Feldman in 2009.[8]
In 2008, when batters did hit the ball against him, it was with uncommon success, as his .358 batting-average-against on balls in play was the highest in the major leagues.[9] 26% of all balls put in play against him were line drives, the highest percentage in the majors.[10]
Millwood was traded to theBaltimore Orioles on December 9, 2009, forChris Ray and aplayer to be named later (left-handed pitcher Ben Snyder, a Rule 5 pick from San Francisco).
During the 2010 season, Millwood went 4–16 with a 5.10earned run average, leading the league in losses.
On March 25, 2011, Millwood was signed to a minor league contract by theNew York Yankees.[11] After making three starts in the minor leagues, he opted out of his contract on May 1.[12]
Millwood signed a minor league contract with theBoston Red Sox on May 19, 2011.[13] He was released on August 7, exercising an opt-out clause.
On August 8, 2011, Millwood signed a minor league contract with theColorado Rockies.[14][15] Millwood was called up August 10 to fill a void after an injury toJuan Nicasio.
On January 22, 2012, it was reported that theSeattle Mariners had signed Millwood to a minor league contract.[16] He was called up fromTriple-A and made his first major league start of the season on April 22 against theChicago White Sox.[17] On May 13, Millwood became the 67th pitcher to record2,000 career strikeouts when he struck outYankeeCurtis Granderson.[18][19] Millwood notched a win over Yankee starterAndy Pettitte, who was pitching in the majors for the first time since 2010.[20][21]
On June 8, Millwood pitched the first six innings of a combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers before leaving the game due to a groin injury.[22]Charlie Furbush,Stephen Pryor,Lucas Luetge,Brandon League, andTom Wilhelmsen helped him complete the bid. Millwood was put on the disabled list in September with soreness in his shoulder and missed the remainder of the regular season.[23]
On February 3, 2013, Millwood was reported to be retiring.[24]
Millwood was asinkerball pitcher. His sinker clocked at 89–92 mph and was complemented mostly by an 89–91 mphcutter and 83–86 mphslider. Millwood also threw acurveball (71–74) and achangeup (82–84) that he used against left-handed hitters. He tended to use the cutter early in the count, with higher use of hisbreaking balls in two-strike situations.[25]
On January 9, 1999 inSpartanburg, South Carolina, Millwood married Rena Stevens ofGreenville, South Carolina.[1]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Philadelphia PhilliesOpening DayStarting Pitcher 2003–2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher April 27,2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | No-hit game June 8,2012 (withFurbush,Pryor,Luetge,League, &Wilhelmsen) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fewest hits per nine innings (NL) 1999 | Succeeded by |
