Roscoe Clyde Miller (December 2, 1876 – April 18, 1913) was an American right-handed pitcher in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

who played parts of four seasons (1901–1904) with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

. For his career, he compiled a 39–45 record in 102 appearances, with a 3.45

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

and 198 strikeouts. His nicknames were Roxy and Rubberlegs.

Baseball career

Miller was born in 1876 in

Greenville, Indiana Greenville is an incorporated town in Floyd County, Indiana. The population was 595 at the 2010 census. Greenville is located in the greater Louisville metropolitan area. History Founding Greenville was platted in 1816 by Andrew Mundell and ...

. He started his professional baseball career in 1896 and played in the major leagues from 1901 to 1904."Roscoe Miller Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020. Miller's rookie season in 1901 was his best. He started 36 games for the

in their first season in the new

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, and finished with a record of 23–13—the first 20-game season by a Detroit Tigers pitcher. In 1901, he also had 35 complete games (still an American League rookie record), 3 shutouts, 79 strikeouts, and a 2.95 ERA–89 points below the league average. His

Adjusted ERA+ Adjusted ERA+, often simply abbreviated to ERA+ or ERA plus, is a pitching statistic in baseball. It adjusts a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) according to the pitcher's ballpark (in case the ballpark favors batters or pitchers) and the ERA o ...

of 130 was 5th in the AL behind

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

. He was also among the league leaders in wins (4th) and winning percentage (6th) in the AL's inaugural season. Two games in September 1901 illustrate his strengths and weaknesses. On Labor Day 1901, the Tigers picked up 21 infield assists (including 12 by shortstop

Kid Elberfeld Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld (April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944) was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1898), Cincinnati Reds (1899), Detroit Tigers (1901–1903 ...

) to support Miller—still the American League record for infield assists. Three days later, Miller lost his cool in an 11–9 loss to the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakl ...

, inexplicably lobbing the ball and grinning as the A's batter hit it, then throwing a bunt into the stands, allowing three runs to score. Miller could not duplicate the success of his rookie season, losing 20 games in 1902, and never again having a winning record. He was the first pitcher to record a 20-win and a 20-loss record in consecutive seasons. After a rough start to the 1902 season, Miller jumped mid-season to the

to play for newly-signed Giants' manager

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...

. Miller was 1–8 for McGraw and the Giants in the last half of 1902. Miller played his remaining MLB seasons in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

. In 1904, Miller sprained his wrist in a carriage accident. He was riding with 14

players when the rear wheel suddenly collapsed. Several players, including Miller and

Kitty Bransfield William Edward "Kitty" Bransfield (January 7, 1875 – May 1, 1947) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1898 to 1911 for the Boston Beaneaters, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phil ...

, were injured when the frightened horses bolted and dragged the carriage on its side. After the 1904 season, Miller returned to the minor leagues. In 1906, he pitched for the

Des Moines Champions Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), severa ...

of the Western League, where he led the circuit with a 28–15 record. His professional baseball career ended in 1909.

Later years

In the spring of 1912, Miller traveled to Virginia to try out unsuccessfully for a minor league club. He did not make the club and was described at the time as "down and out, and penniless." He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

one year later at his home near

Corydon, Indiana Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana. Located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana, it is the seat of government for Harrison County. Corydon was founded in 1808 and serv ...

, at age 36.

References

External links

Roscoe Miller
- BaseballBiography.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Roscoe 1876 births 1913 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players New York Giants (NL) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Atlanta Crackers players Columbus Babies players Columbus River Snipes players Mansfield Haymakers players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Seattle Siwashes players Des Moines Champs players Fresno Tigers players Oakland Commuters players San Jose Prune Pickers players Baseball players from Indiana People from Floyd County, Indiana 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Indiana

Baseball career

Later years

See also

References

External links