Marlin Maniac
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Miami Marlins History: All-Time Top 10 OPS

By Kevin Kraczkowski

Ivan Rodriguez #7 of the Florida Marlins smiles after the Marlins won Game 2 of the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, Calif., October 1, 2003 (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
Ivan Rodriguez #7 of the Florida Marlins smiles after the Marlins won Game 2 of the NLDS against the San Francisco Giants at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco, Calif., October 1, 2003 (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images) /
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6 Mar 2000: Kevin Millar #15 of the Florida Marlins starts to run after hitting the ball during the Spring Training Game against the Kansas City Royals at Baseball City Stadium in Baseball City, Florida. The Marlins defeated the Royals 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport /

8) Kevin Millar (.871)

Kevin Millar is now more famous for his various roles on the MLB network. For a time, he was a pretty good baseball player.

Millar is a Los Angeles native, and cut his teeth in the independent Northern League after going undrafted. In 1993, he slashed .260/.338/.383, good enough to catch the Florida Marlins interest. They sent him to the Kane County Cougars the following season, and watched him progress through the minor leagues, hitting near- or better-than-.300 at each stop.

In 1998, Millar made his first major league appearance, getting a walk and a hit out of his first three plate appearances. In the next season, his official rookie campaign, he slashed .285/.362/.433 over 105 appearances, with nine homers and 67 RBI.

Millar, mostly a first baseman by trade, also played third base and both corner outfield positions. In 2000, he slashed .259/.364/.498 in 123 games, with 14 round-trippers and 42 RBI.

In Millar’s 12 major league seasons, he never made the all-star team, never won a Gold Glove or a Silver Slugger, and never received a single MVP vote. That’s not to say he wasn’t a good player. He put up near-all-star levels of production in 2001, slashing .314/.374/.557 with 20 home runs and 85 RBI in 144 contests. Unfortunately, he wasn’t always the best baserunner….

In 2002, Millar continued his solid level of production in 126 games for Florida, slashing .306/.366/.509 with 16 homers and 57 RBI. Just before spring training in 2003, the Boston Red Sox purchased Millar’s contract.

Millar spent seven seasons in the American League. Three years with Boston, three with the Baltimore Orioles, and his final year with the Toronto Blue Jays.

As a postscript to his independent league roots, Millar returned to the St. Paul Saints in 2017 as a 46-year-old man, and in his first at bat crushed a round tripper.

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