Corky Miller

From SoSH

Abraham Philip (Corky) Miller (born March 18, 1976 in Loma Linda, CA) is a catcher currently playing in the Atlanta Braves organization. Went hitless in four at-bats for the 2006 Red Sox.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Miller's Moment in the Sun 3 Awards 4 Trivia 5 Quotes 6 Transactions 7 External Links

Overall Career

Miller was drafted by the California Angels in the 23rd round of the 1994 draft, but instead attended the University of Nevada. In 1998, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an undrafted free agent. He advanced through the lower minors quickly, putting up big numbers as a player old for his leagues. In 2001, his age 25 season, he had perhaps his career year, crushing the Southern (AA) and International (AAA) leagues, reaching the majors for the first time. However, since then, he's struggled to establish himself in the majors and his AAA performance fell off. He rode the shuttle from AAA to Cincinnati frequently until he completely fell out of favor with his disastrous 1-for-39 performance for the Reds in 2004. He spent 2005 with the Twins organization, almost entirely at AAA.

Miller signed with the Sox as a minor league free agent on April 25, 2006, when Ken Huckaby went on the Pawtucket disabled list. However, the primary motivating factor for his signing was likely his experience catching the knuckleball of Jared Fernandez, since Josh Bard was struggling greatly as Tim Wakefield's personal catcher in the majors at the time. Quickly emerging as Pawtucket's starting catcher due to the injuries and offensive shortcomings of Huckaby and Jim Buckley, Miller hit .258/.343/.510 with 13 homers and 36 RBI in 198 at-bats. Miller was promoted to Boston on August 5, 2006, but his tenure in Boston would not last long. After appearing in just one game (a 7-6 defeat against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on August 6, 2006), Miller was designated for assignment on August 14, 2006 to make room for Craig Breslow. On December 14, 2006, Miller signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Miller's Moment in the Sun

• April 26, 2006: While at Pawtucket, Miller gained some national attention by being behind the plate when Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Delmon Young tossed his bat at and hit the home plate umpire in the chest.

Awards

• 1998 Big West Conference All-Star

Trivia

• Voted "player you want most in your clubhouse," while a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

Quotes

• "My uncle's wife's brother's name was Clark and they called him Corky," Miller responded when asked about the origins of his name. "They kind of named me after him.... I guess I have to like it, I've had it for almost 30 years...everybody doesn't believe that it is my real name." [1]

Transactions

• June 2, 1994: Drafted by the California Angels in the 23rd round of the 1994 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• June 5, 1998: Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent.
• October 4, 2004: Selected off waivers by the Minnesota Twins from the Cincinnati Reds.
• October 15, 2005: Granted Free Agency.
• November 8, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Seattle Mariners.
• April 17, 2006: Released by the Seattle Mariners.
• April 25, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox to a minor league contract.
• December 14, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves to a minor league contract.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis