Bob Milliken

{{short description|American baseball player (1926-2007)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{No footnotes|date=April 2009}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Bob Milliken | image =Bob Milliken.jpg | caption =''Topps'' baseball card, 1953 Series #221 | position = Pitcher | birth_date = {{birth date|1926|8|25}} | birth_place = Majorsville, West Virginia, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2007|1|3|1926|8|25}} | death_place = Clearwater, Florida, U.S. | bats =Right | throws = Right |debutleague = MLB | debutdate =April 22 | debutyear =1953 | debutteam =Brooklyn Dodgers |finalleague = MLB | finaldate =July 29 | finalyear =1954 | finalteam =Brooklyn Dodgers |statleague = MLB | stat1label = Win–loss record | stat1value =13–6 | stat2label =Earned run average | stat2value =3.59 | stat3label =Strikeouts | stat3value =90 | teams = *Brooklyn Dodgers ({{baseball year|1953}}–{{baseball year|1954}}) | highlights = *World Series champion ({{wsy|1967}}) }}

'''Robert Fogle Milliken''' (August 25, 1926 – January 3, 2007) was a reliever and spot starter in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1953–54). Milliken batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Majorsville, West Virginia.

Milliken pitched in the minor leagues with Fort Worth (1948–49) and Montreal (1950) before joining the military from 1951 to 1952.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bob Milliken Register Statistics & History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=millik001rob|website=baseball-reference.com|publisher=sports-reference.com|accessdate=August 19, 2016}}</ref> After being discharged, he helped the Brooklyn Dodgers to clinch the 1953 National League pennant with an 8–4 mark, 65 strikeouts, 117 innings, and a 3.37 ERA in 37 appearances, including 10 starts. He faced the New York Yankees in the World Series of that year and pitched two innings of shutout relief. In 1954 he went 5–2 with two saves in 24 games, three as a starter, as he recorded a 4.02 ERA in a league where the pitchers averaged 4.07. After that, he suffered arm problems and did not return to the major leagues.

From 1955 to 1956 Milliken divided his playing time between Fort Worth and Montreal. Following his playing retirement, he returned to the majors as a batting practice pitcher (1963–1964) and bullpen and pitching coach with the St. Louis Cardinals (1965–70, 1976). He is given credit in the ''SABR'' biography of Jim Willoughby for straightening out his delivery in 1975, while Milliken served as the Redbirds' minor-league pitching instructor and Willoughby was with the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers. Later, he was a St. Louis scout.

In 61 major league appearances, Milliken posted a 13–6 record with a 3.59 ERA, four saves, and 90 strikeouts in 180{{fraction|1|3}} innings, including 13 starts and three complete games.

Milliken died in Clearwater, Florida, at the age of 80. According to his obituary, he had spent 58 years in baseball.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb=119140 |espn= |br=m/millibo01 |fangraphs= |cube= |brm=millik001rob }} *[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=millibo01 Baseball Almanac]

{{s-start}} {{succession box|title=St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach|years=1976|before=Barney Schultz|after=Claude Osteen}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milliken, Bob}} Category:1926 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Atlanta Crackers players Category:Baseball players from West Virginia Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players Category:Danville Dodgers players Category:Fort Worth Cats players Category:Macon Dodgers players Category:Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball pitching coaches Category:Memphis Chickasaws players Category:Montreal Royals players Category:Sportspeople from Marshall County, West Virginia Category:Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:St. Louis Cardinals coaches Category:St. Louis Cardinals scouts Category:St. Paul Saints (AA) players Category:Spokane Indians players Category:20th-century American sportsmen