Kevin Millar 2006-08I saw that 1-5 signed a Minor League contract with the Cubs on Monday and I had an autograph of his in my scans folder so I figured the time was perfect to do a quick post about him.
I got the above card signed at an Orioles-Blue Jays game last season. The game was sometime towards the end of the year and Millar was talking to a friend of his in the stands so he signed for a bunch of us while he was near the wall. He seems like a very funny guy and, from all accounts, is a great clubhouse presence and a constant joker. I saw a show on the MLB Network recently that listed him as one of the Top 9 clubhouse jokesters of all-time. I really enjoyed his time with the Orioles and I still hope that he will come back to be a coach on the team someday, even though I have a feeling that he will end up working for the Red Sox after his playing days are over.
I also need to mention that he holds the Orioles all-time record for reaching base in 57 consecutive games. Pretty solid.
Something I didn't know about Kevin is the he started his career in the Bigs as a replacement player in 1995 while the horrific '94 strike was still going on. That was a dark time in baseball, wasn't it? I didn't know if baseball would ever come back but it seems to be doing alright these days. Since Millar was a replacement player, he cannot be a member of the MLB Players Association so isn't featured in any baseball video games. He is replaced on their rosters by a fictional player with similar stats, normally with the initials KM.
Kalina got this card signed for me earlier last season, which was awesome of her by the way. It seems like he was more rushed when he signed this card, as he didn't add his uniform number like he did on the top card. Neither of his signatures look much at all like the pre-printed one on the 08 Heritage.Also, it seems like Topps Heritage liked to make his cards green, doesn't it? I guess that was just a coincidence.
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3 comments:
I did not realize that was his uniform number. I thought that it was a couple of "l's" or something.
The thing I hate about replacement players is that it is hard to find cards of them. I'm surprised these two cards even exist. The only cards I could find of Ron Mahay were two Topps Total cards.
Another consequence of his barring from the MLB Players Association is that Kelmo could never be inducted into the HOF - not that he seems in any risk of that.
I really liked him on the Os too, and that says a lot. I have trouble warming to anyone tainted by time on that Boston team.
Zach-haha that's a good point, they aren't the most legible numbers ever. And Millar seems to have quite a few cards for a replacement player. I had trouble tracking down Mahay cards for my Royals team set last season though.
phaedrus- Damn, I thought Millar was a lock for the Hall.
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