Brad Mills (manager)

Brad Mills
Mills with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians – No. 2
Third base coach
Born: January 19, 1957 Exeter, California
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 8, 1980, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1983, for the Montreal Expos
MLB statistics
Batting average	.256
Home runs	1
Runs batted in	12
Games managed	445
Win–loss record	171–274
Winning %	.384
Teams
As player Montreal Expos (1980–1983) As coach Philadelphia Phillies (1997–2000) Montreal Expos (2003) Boston Red Sox (2004–2009) Cleveland Indians (2013– present) As manager Houston Astros (2010–2012)

James Bradley Mills (born January 19, 1957) is a former manager of the Houston Astros and a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He currently serves as a third base coach for the Cleveland Indians. He is the father of retired professional baseball player Beau Mills.

Early life

Mills was educated at Exeter High School in California, College of the Sequoias, and the University of Arizona, where he was drafted in the 17th round by the Montreal Expos.^[1]

Baseball career

Playing career

Mills reached the major leagues in 1980 and went on to post a .256 batting average with one home run and 12 RBI in 106 games played for the Expos (1980–83). He divided his time between Triple-A and the majors in each of those seasons, and sustained a right knee injury that ended his playing career at the age of 29. A full-time left-handed hitter and primarily a third baseman, he also saw time at first base and second. Mills became forever a part of major league history, when in 1983 he was Nolan Ryan's 3,509th career strikeout victim, lifting Ryan past Walter Johnson as the all-time strikeout leader.

Post-playing career

Mills managed eleven seasons in the minors in the Cubs, Rockies and Dodgers organizations (1987–2002),^[2] and also served as an advance scout for the Cubs. Mills was Terry Francona's first-base coach with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997–2000. In 2003, Mills served as the Montreal Expos bench coach. From 2004 to 2009, Mills was teamed again with Francona when he served as the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox.^[2]

Houston Astros Manager

On October 27, 2009, Mills was named manager of the Houston Astros, replacing interim manager Dave Clark.^[2]

With his Astros holding the worst record in the majors, Mills was fired on August 18, 2012 along with hitting coach Mike Barnett and first base coach Bobby Meacham.^[3] He was succeeded on an interim basis by Oklahoma City RedHawks manager Tony DeFrancesco.^[4]

Cleveland Indians

On October 31, 2012, Mills was hired as the third base coach of the Cleveland Indians, to work with Francona again. Mills was Francona's bench coach in Boston.^[5] On May 13, 2015, managing in place of Terry Francona, Mills pulled starting pitcher Corey Kluber who'd 1-hit the St. Louis Cardinals for 8 innings while striking out 18 batters without issuing a walk or allowing a run scored. Through the eighth inning, his last, Kluber had thrown 113 pitches while striking out two batters in the top of his last inning. His last strikeout, a swinging third strike, was to Cardinals' designated hitter Mark Reynolds.

Managerial record

As of October 2, 2014

Team	From	To	Regular season record			Post–season record
			W	L	Win %	W	L	Win %
Houston Astros	2010	2012	171	274	.384	—

References

1. "The Newark Star Ledger section 5 pg 5, August 26, 2012".
2. McTaggart, Brian (2009-10-27). "Mills named Astros manager". MLB.com. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
3. Astros fire manager Brad Mills. ESPN.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
4. Tony DeFrancesco in for Brad Mills. ESPN.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
5. Bastian, Jordan (October 31, 2012). "Familiar faces among Francona's coaching staff". MLB.com. Retrieved November 3, 2012.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

• Brad Mills managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com