Bob Milacki

Happy Birthday to Bob Milacki who turns 47 today. The pinnacle of Bob Milacki's career came at the age of 24 in Baltimore when he won 14 games and pitched 243 innings. Coming up through the Orioles system in the mid 1980s, Milacki struggled with control and didn't strike a lot of batters out but his stuff still managed to move him up the ranks until September of 1988 when he pitched in his first Major League game against the Detroit Tigers. He pitched 8 innings, allowed 1 hit and walked struck out 4 Tigers for his first of 39 Major League wins. He was the first player from Lake Havasu High School in Arizona to make it to the Big Leagues.

Milacki was part of a combined no-hitter on July 13,1991 having pitched the first 6 innings of the game. He left the game due to a hand injury sustained when he deflected a Willie Wilson line drive, saving a hit in the process.
He pieced together a decent career as a 4th or 5th starter for about 4 years before becoming essentially a AAAA player, splitting time between AAA and the Majors until 1996. I don't know what happened to him in 1997 but in 1998 and 1999, having improved his control, he became an excellent professional AAA pitcher, hoping for one last chance to prove himself. He gave it one last shot in 2000 in the Independent Leagues at St. Paul.

Since then, Milacki has made a second career as a pitching coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and more recently, with the Phillies. He is currently working for the Reading Phillies of the Eastern League.