Norm Miller

Norman Calvin Miller

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 195 lb.
• School Los Angeles Valley College
• High School Van Nuys High School
• Debut September 11, 1965
• Final Game September 16, 1974
• Born February 5, 1946 in Los Angeles, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Norm Miller played a decade in the major leagues, mostly with the Houston Astros.

Miller, born in Los Angeles, CA, signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 1964. He hit .301 for the Quad Cities Angels then was drafted by Houston after the 1964 season in the first-year player draft. He played most of the 1965 season with the Amarillo Sonics, hitting .289 with 20 home runs.

He made his major league debut in September of 1965 at age 19. He was not the youngest player on the team as Larry Dierker was 18. Joe Morgan and Rusty Staub were both 21.

Miller spent the next three seasons splitting time between the Oklahoma City 89ers and Houston before coming to the majors as a full-time player in 1969, the only year in which he had over 300 at-bats.

In the majors, Miller was mostly a right fielder, but also played a lot of left and center field with two appearances at each of third base and catcher.

He had a measure of fame as the only player to score a run in the 24-inning 1-0 game on April 15, 1968 between the New York Mets and the Astros.

Jim Bouton remembered him as one of his roommates. In the book Ball Four, Bouton said Miller had a couple of Jewish holidays where he didn't get a hit and then superstitiously said (perhaps in jest) that he wouldn't play on Jewish holidays anymore.

He came to the Atlanta Braves to close out his career, doing a lot of pinch-hitting in 1974, a year in which Hank Aaron was 40. Miller was the same age as teammates Ralph Garr and Johnny Oates.