Vintage Fridays: Stu Miller, 1965 Topps #499

The Orioles lost a couple of old friends last Sunday. Former general manager Hank Peters passed away due to complications from a stroke. He was 90 years old. Peters helmed Baltimore's front office from 1975 to 1987, overseeing the 1979 American League Champions and the 1983 World Series winning team. On his watch, the Birds drafted Cal Ripken, Mike Boddicker, and Storm Davis, among others. He also traded for Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez...and that was all in the same deal!

Former reliever Stu Miller also died on January 4, just nine days after his 87th birthday. The righthander started his career with the Cardinals in 1952, but spent the bulk of his career with the O's and Giants. It was with San Francisco that he committed an infamous balk in the 1961 All-Star Game. Taking the mound in the ninth inning with the National League clinging to a one-run lead, he was thrown off balance by one of the famed gusts of wind that were typical for Candlestick Park. The umpire called the balk, and Al Kaline moved to third. Kaline would tie the game a batter later, scoring on Ken Boyer's error. Miller did earn the win in the tenth inning, though. He spent the last five full seasons of his career as an Oriole, anchoring the team's bullpen with a 2.37 ERA (145 ERA+), 38 wins, and an even 100 saves. Not bad for a guy who was 35 when he got to town.