Charles Bruce Miller (born March 4, 1947) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

. He played for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

from to . Miller was drafted by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in the 20th round of the 1970 MLB June Amateur Draft from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. Miller led the Hoosiers in hits in both 1968 and 1969, earning all

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

honors at shortstop in 1969. He advanced through the White Sox farm system, hitting .289 for the 1972 Triple-A

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

, and was traded to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

along with

Bruce Kimm Bruce Edward Kimm (born June 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher, manager and coach. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox betwee ...

for veteran pitcher

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...

in August 1972. In 1973, his stay with the Angels was brief as they traded him that April for Al Gallagher. Miller then spent most of the year with the

Phoenix Giants Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), an immortal bird in ancient Greek mythology * Phoenix, Arizona, the capital of the U.S. state of Arizona and the most populous state capital in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: ...

, making the 1973

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

All-Star team, and was rewarded with a late-season call-up by the Giants in August 1973, batting .143. He split duty in 1974 between the Triple-A

and the San Francisco Giants, hitting .278 in 215 plate appearances in the big leagues. Miller went 4-4 against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in a June 6, 1974 game and had a 3 RBI game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in September. Miller spent all of 1975 with the Giants, with a .239 average in 328 at-bats in an infield utility role. He hit his first and only major-league home run off

Clay Kirby Clayton Laws Kirby, Jr. (June 25, 1948 – October 11, 1991) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the San Diego Padres (1969–1973), Cincinnati Reds (1974–75) and Montreal Expos (1976). Early life Clayton Laws "Clay" Kirb ...

of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in Cincinnati in a July 31, 1975 game. Miller also went 2-4 with 4 RBIs in an August home match-up with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

and had 5 game-winning hits in 1975. 1976 was again a split season, with most of the year spent with the Giants Triple-A affiliate in Phoenix. Miller did get called up to San Francisco during the summer for a 12-game stretch, hitting .160 in his final taste of major-league action. His final game in MLB was August 28, 1976. Miller was with the 4th place Giants on September 19, 1976 when, on a flight returning from a series in Cincinnati, he got into a drunken altercation with the team statistician, Ralph Nelson, and traveling secretary, Frank Bergonzi. Miller and teammate Mike Caldwell demanded another drink from the flight attendant, Bergonzi intervened, and Miller punched Nelson in the in-flight altercation. Miller was sent to the minors by the Giants as a result, his contract out-righted to Phoenix and then released by the organization. Giants Manager

Bill Rigney William Joseph Rigney (January 29, 1918 – February 20, 2001) was an American professional infielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). A 26-year veteran in the major leagues, Rigney played for the New York Giants from to , then spent ...

resigned at the end of the season, and Caldwell was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in October. The Giants banned alcohol on team flights the following season. Miler played professional softball with the

Fort Wayne Huggie Bears A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

of the United Professional Softball League during their 1980 season. The team played at the Tah-Cum-Wah Recreation Center in Fort Wayne. Miller went on to become a teacher on the North Side High School, and served as a baseball coach and was a 2012 Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Bruce Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana San Francisco Giants players 1947 births Living people Duluth-Superior Dukes players Tucson Toros players Asheville Tourists players Phoenix Giants players Salt Lake City Angels players 20th-century American sportsmen