Former Orioles Manager And Pitching Coach Ray Miller Dies At Age 75
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Former Baltimore Orioles manager and pitching coach, Ray Miller, died this week at the age of 75 the team confirmed in a statement. Miller joined the O's organization in 1978 as pitching coach under managers Earl Weaver and Joe Altobelli, mentoring the starting rotation that played a key role in the team taking the 1983 World Series.
The Orioles statement reads:
"The Orioles are saddened to learn of the passing of long-time pitching coach, former manager and Orioles Hall of Famer, Ray Miller, who passed away yesterday. His legacy will be forever enshrined in our organization's history, having guided some of the greatest Orioles pitchers including Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, Steve Stone and Mike Boddicker. We send our deepest condolences to his beloved family and his many friends throughout our game."
Born in Takoma Park, Maryland in 1945, Miller was an all-state baseball player in the area before signing with the San Francisco Giants in 1964. Over 10 seasons in the minor leagues, he never made it higher than Triple-A, but he had arguably his best season as a member of the Orioles organization when he went 7-5 with a 3.21 ERA across 47 appearances for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in 1972.
His coaching career began with the Red Wings, where he served as the team's pitching instructor from 1974-77 before joining the Texas Rangers staff at the end of that season. In January of 1978, the Orioles pitching coach position opened and the Rangers released him from his contract to allow him to return to Baltimore.
Under his tutelage, Mike Flanagan and Steve Stone won back-to-back Cy Young awards in 1979 and 1980 respectively. The team won the American League pennant in 1979 before going on to win the World Series in 1983.
His first managerial opportunity came with the Minnesota Twins, taking over the team midseason in 1985 and leading them back to .500 by year's end after being 20 games below when he started. However, after the team struggled during the 1986 season, Miller was let go in September with a 59-80 record.
From there, he became Jim Leyland's pitching coach in Pittsburgh for 10 seasons, during which time he oversaw Doug Drabek's Cy Young award winning 1990 campaign. Miller returned to Baltimore in 1997 as pitching coach for Davey Johnson before taking over the manager's job in 1998. Over two seasons as manager with the O's Miller's teams posted a 157-167 record finishing fourth in the American League East each season.
He returned to coach the O's one final time in 2004 and 2005 but had to resign from the role due to a surgery to correct an aortic aneurysm. Miller was then inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2010.
