 |
 |
Felix Bernardo Millan
Atlanta Braves
Second Base
Born: August 21, 1943, Yabucoa, Puerto Rico
Signed: Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams: Atlanta Braves 1966-1972; New York Mets 1973-1977
World Series Appearances: New York Mets 1973
Felix Millan was a three-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner during his 12 years in the majors with the Braves and Mets. His All-Star years came between 1969 and 1971, and he was the starting second baseman for the National League squad in 1969. Millan was a slap hitter, choking up high on his bat and finishing in the top ten for singles in six different seasons. He was also strong defensively, finishing in the top five among National League second baseman in fielding percentage in eight straight seasons between 1968 and 1976. Millan was traded to the Mets prior to the 1973 season, and he'd help the club reach the World Series in what was one of his best offensive seasons. Millan batted .290 in 1973 and in 1975 he'd collect a career-best 191 hits while becoming the first player in Mets' history to play all 162 games in a season.
His major league playing career ended prematurely in 1977 following a brawl with the Pirates' Ed Ott that resulted in a severe shoulder injury to Millan. He'd play three seasons in Japan and one season in Mexico before retiring from baseball in 1981. Millan batted .279 for his career, collecting 1,617 hits.
Felix Millan was a three-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner during his 12 years in the majors with the Braves and Mets. His All-Star years came between 1969 and 1971, and he was the starting second baseman for the National League squad in 1969. Millan was a slap hitter, choking up high on his bat and finishing in the top ten for singles in six different seasons. He was also strong defensively, finishing in the top five among National League second baseman in fielding percentage in eight straight seasons between 1968 and 1976. Millan was traded to the Mets prior to the 1973 season, and he'd help the club reach the World Series in what was one of his best offensive seasons. Millan batted .290 in 1973 and in 1975 he'd collect a career-best 191 hits while becoming the first player in Mets' history to play all 162 games in a season.
His major league playing career ended prematurely in 1977 following a brawl with the Pirates' Ed Ott that resulted in a severe shoulder injury to Millan. He'd play three seasons in Japan and one season in Mexico before retiring from baseball in 1981. Millan batted .279 for his career, collecting 1,617 hits.
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 138th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing less than a dollar.
The Card / Braves Team Set / Accuracy Index +1
This is actually a really nice looking card, which I've learned is a rarity for the first few series of the 1969 Topps set. Given the great photo, I shouldn't have been surprised when I learned Topps had already used it for Millan's 1968 Topps card. He's wearing #11 here, which was his number with the Braves in 1966 and 1967. The cartoon on the back highlights his Topps Most Outstanding Minor League Player award from 1967. The write-up mentions his second place .289 average on the Braves from 1968. Millan wasn't close to Felipe Alou (#300), who batted .317 and finished third in the league.
Accuracy Index: Great looking card, but it slips to +1 given the repeat photo usage.
1969 Season
This could be considered Millan's best season. As the regular second baseman for the Braves, he played in all 162 games and batted .267 with a career-high 57 RBIs. Millan was the starting second baseman for the National League in the All-Star Game, delivering a third inning two-run double off Blue Moon Odom (#195). The National League would defeat the American League 9-3 in Washington, D.C. Millan led all second baseman with a .980 fielding percentage and he was awarded his first of two career Gold Gloves following the season.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1967 Topps #89
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1967-1978
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2018 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-FM
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 83 in the Beckett online database as of 1/11/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment