Kevin Millwood

Kevin Millwood
Baltimore Orioles — No. --
Starting pitcher
Born: December 24, 1974 (1974-12-24) (age 34) Gastonia, North Carolina
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 14, 1997 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics (through 2009 season)
Win-Loss	155–121
Earned run average	4.02
Strikeouts	1808
Teams
Atlanta Braves (1997–2002) Philadelphia Phillies (2003–2004) Cleveland Indians (2005) Texas Rangers (2006–2009) Baltimore Orioles (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1999) Pitched no-hitter on April 27, 2003

Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974, in Gastonia, North Carolina) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball career

Millwood was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 11th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft from Bessemer City High School in Bessemer City, North Carolina. After a couple of years in the minors, Millwood made his debut with the Atlanta Braves on July 14, 1997. A year later, he won 17 games. Millwood formed a part of the Braves' star pitching rotation, which also consisted of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine, which at that time was regarded by many as the best in the National League.

The 1999 campaign was one of Millwood's best. He posted career-highs in wins (18, also achieved in 2002), ERA (2.68), strikeouts (205) and WHIP (0.996). He finished third in the National League Cy Young voting (losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks' Randy Johnson) and 26th on the National League MVP ballot. He was selected an All-Star in 1999, his only appearance in the Midsummer Classic.

Before the 2003 season, Millwood was traded by the Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Johnny Estrada, probably in order to cut their payroll in the midst of economic difficulties. He went 14-12 with his new team, including throwing a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on April 27. This was one of only two no-no's ever thrown at the now-demolished Veterans Stadium — the other was thrown by Terry Mulholland — coming in the Phillies' final season at the stadium. To date, it remains the last no-hitter thrown by a Phillie.^[1] He also led the majors in stolen bases allowed, with 41.

In 2005, Millwood signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians. He came back from injury well, leading the American League in ERA (2.86). However, he managed a record of only 9-11, due to poor run support. During 2005 he again led the majors in stolen bases allowed, with 33. He was tied for 6th in the balloting for the Cy Young Award. On December 26, 2005, the Texas Rangers signed Millwood to a five-year, $60 million deal.^[2]

In 2006 he and Vincente Padilla won 15 games; a total not matched by a Rangers pitcher until Scott Feldman in 2009.^[3]

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.[1] 26% of all balls put in play against him were line drives, the highest percentage in the majors.[2]

Through the end of the 2008 season, Millwood had compiled a career 143-111 record with 1,707 strikeouts and a 4.02 ERA in 2,115.2 innings. He had a 3-3 career playoff record, with an ERA of 3.92.

Millwood was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on December 9, 2009, for Chris Ray and a player to be named later (later became left-handed pitcher Ben Snyder, a Rule V pick from San Francisco).

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube