Forever to be remembered as one of two Bob Millers on the 1962 Mets (they even roomed together), this Bob Miller was distinguished by his nickname R.B., which stood for Righty Bob. Used mostly as a starter that year, he pitched better than his 4.89 ERA would indicate, but lost lots of close games. On the next-to-last day of the season, he could have made the record books; he was 0-12, and only one pitcher had ever lost as many as 13 games without a win. But that afternoon, Miller beat the Cubs 2-1. The half-dozen sportswriters who followed the Mets that year had always crowded around his locker after his tough losses and no-decisions to get his reaction, but that day there was only one sportswriter on hand, and he was so busy covering for four papers that he didn’t make it to the clubhouse.
Miller had his greatest success after being traded to the Dodgers following the 1962 season. Converted to relief, he posted good ERA and led the NL in appearances in 1964 (74). After a 2-9 record in 1967, he was traded to the Twins. From 1970 through 1973, he played on seven teams, and in each of three of those four years, he played for three teams. He returned to the Mets at the end of ’73 and finished his career with them in 1974.
