Alan Mills (baseball) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alan Mills |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg)
Mills with the Baltimore Orioles in 1993
|
|||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: October 18, 1966 Lakeland, Florida, U.S. |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| April 14, 1990, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 5, 2001, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 39–32 | ||
| Earned run average | 4.12 | ||
| Strikeouts | 456 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
Alan Bernard Mills (born October 18, 1966) is an American former relief pitcher and pitching coach. He played for 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was with the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Alan pitched with his right hand.
Contents
Early Life and Baseball Beginnings
Alan Mills was born in Lakeland, Florida, on October 18, 1966. He was the youngest of four children. When he was young, his favorite sport was football. However, doctors told him he only had one kidney. Because of this, he switched to playing baseball.
He graduated from Kathleen High School in 1984. He started as an outfielder on his school's team. Later, he became a pitcher. He went to Tuskegee University for a year. Then he moved to Polk Community College. This happened because Tuskegee stopped offering baseball scholarships.
Alan was chosen twice in the Major League Baseball Draft in 1986. He was picked by the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels. He chose to sign with the Angels. They agreed to pay for his last two years of college.
Mills played one season with the Salem Angels. After that, the Angels traded him to the New York Yankees. This trade helped complete an earlier deal between the teams.
Playing for the New York Yankees
Alan Mills became a relief pitcher while playing in the Yankees' minor league system. A relief pitcher comes into the game after the starting pitcher. He played three seasons in the minor leagues. In 1989, he played for the Prince William Cannons. He had a great year, helping his team win their first league title.
Even though he had only played in the lower minor leagues, his good performance earned him an invitation. He got to join the main team for Spring training in 1990.
He made his first major league game appearance on April 14, 1990. He pitched well against the Texas Rangers. In his first year, he split his time between the Yankees and their top minor league team, the Columbus Clippers.
In 1991, Mills spent most of the year in the minor leagues. He pitched in two games for the Yankees in September. The next season, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
As of 2024, Alan Mills is the only Yankee player to wear the number 69 in a regular season game.
Time with the Baltimore Orioles
When Alan Mills joined the Baltimore Orioles, he became a very important part of their bullpen. The bullpen is where relief pitchers warm up and wait to play. In 1992, he had a strong season.
In 1998, Mills played in 72 games, which was the most on his team. A memorable moment happened on May 19, 1998. During a game against the New York Yankees, a big argument broke out. Alan Mills stepped in to defend his teammate, Armando Benítez, during the heated moment.
After that season, Mills signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played for them for a season and a half. Then, he was traded back to the Orioles. He stayed with the Orioles until 2001.
In his 12-season career, Alan Mills won 39 games and lost 32. He had 456 strikeouts. His ERA was 4.12. An ERA shows how many earned runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings.
Mills wore jersey number 75 with the Orioles. This number is usually worn by players in spring training. Alan chose it to remind himself that he always needed to perform well. He wanted to feel like his job was never completely safe.
Playing for the Erie SeaWolves
After leaving the Orioles, Alan Mills tried to return to baseball. He tried out with the Montreal Expos in 2002. He also tried with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004.
He was away from the game for five years. Then, in 2007, he signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. He played one season with the Erie SeaWolves. In his first 27 games, he was very good at closing out games. He successfully saved 23 games out of 23 chances. He also had a low ERA and made it hard for batters to hit against him.
After Retirement: Coaching Career
After his playing career, Alan Mills returned to his old high school, Kathleen High School. He worked there as a physical education teacher. He was also the head coach for the varsity baseball team from 2009 to 2011. During this time, he also earned a degree in psychology from Ashford University. In 2008, he worked as a pitching coach for the Oneonta Tigers.
In 2012, he returned to the Orioles organization. He spent five years as a pitching coach for different minor league teams. These teams included the Aberdeen IronBirds, Delmarva Shorebirds, and Bowie Baysox. His time with the IronBirds was even written about in a book called Clubbie.
In 2015, his team, the Bowie Baysox, won the Eastern League Championship. After two seasons as the Orioles' bullpen coach, he became the manager of the GCL Orioles in 2019.
Even though the league playoffs were canceled, Mills was named Manager of the Year. He led the Orioles to a fantastic record of 38 wins and 15 losses. This was the best record in the league. His team set or matched records for winning percentage and total wins. On October 4, 2021, Alan Mills left the Baltimore organization.
