Kevin Millar Is Returning to His Roots To Play a Week for the St. Paul Saints

Kevin Millar’s playing days are not over.

“I am going to play a week with the St. Paul Saints,” the best player ever to start his professional career in Independent Baseball told a national audience on SiriusXM Radio one morning this week.

The hosts on The Power Alley wanted to know if Millar was retired since he had been released by the Chicago Cubs at the end of spring training, and it sounded like the 38-year-old first baseman-designated hitter was making the radio appearance because he was joining the MLB Network as an analyst that very night.

But it all makes sense.  The Saints gave Millar an opportunity back in 1993 when he came out of Lamar University in Beaumont, TX as an undrafted hopeful.  It could be partly a payback to the Minnesota club since St. Paul launched Millar and he became one of the reasons the Independent game soon got the attention of major league talent hunters.  Marv Goldklang and Mike Veeck own the team to this day, although the Saints have moved from the Northern League to the American Association.

It works out well, too, if it ends up being a one-week gig because St. Paul is home for the first seven games over an eight-day season-opening span May 13-20 , and, if Millar still has designs on stretching out his playing career it can be a decent showcase to major league teams.

Millar hit .260 with five homers and 30 runs batted in for his 63 games in 1993 when he was a nobody playing third base on the same team in this brand new league with former major leaguer Leon Durham and, for one grand promotional day, the legendary Minnie Minoso.

He has spent all or part of 12 seasons in the majors so far (1998-2009) with Florida, Boston, Baltimore and last year Toronto, hitting .274 in 1,427 games with 1,284 hits, 170 home runs and 699 RBI.

Another Papelbon in New England

One public address announcement is certain to bring a buzz every time it happens this summer, especially when it takes place in New England.

“Now pitching for the Rox, Papelbon”, someone will bellow.

Red Sox Nation will stop whatever else is going on and pay attention.  It does not mean Jonathan Papelbon will be stepping to the mound for the Brockton (MA) Rox mere miles south of Fenway Park, but rather younger brother Josh, who also is a right-handed reliever.

Josh, 26, is a submarine-style pitcher who saved a record 24 games at North Florida and 31 more in his first two seasons (2006-07) in the Boston organization.

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Scheppers: 18 K’s in 10 Innings

It is getting more difficult imagining that Tanner Scheppers will not be joining three other American Association pitching grads (Luke Hochevar, Max Scherzer, Chris Jakubauskas) in the major leagues.  It could happen soon, too, to give the Texas Rangers’ bullpen a boost.

After the onetime St. Paul hurler fanned five San Antonio batters in two perfect innings of relief earlier this week, the 6-foot-4 righty has struck out 18 in 10 innings.  His outings have been spread over five two-inning stints four to five days apart to keep him close to a starter’s schedule even though he is coming out of the bullpen for Double-A Frisco, TX with a mid-90s fastball and big breaking curve .  The onetime Fresno State hurler gave up a home run in the second of his appearances, but he has allowed only two other hits altogether and has not walked a single batter.  The 23-year-old has two saves and a 0.90 earned run average.

Some Consolation Prize

Most of his record was not that bad on paper (1-0, 4.50, .194 opponent batting average), but Oakland reduced its bullpen by one this week and the odd man out was Edwar Ramirez (Pensacola, FL and Edinburg, TX), who was sent to Sacramento.  The 29-year-old changeup artist had the same problem that sometimes haunted him with the New York Yankees.  He had allowed only seven hits, but had walked eight in his 10 innings of work.

If he needs inspiration, Ramirez can pull out the World Series ring Yankees Manager Joe Girardi presented him when New York was on the West Coast last week.

(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball.  Fans may subscribe at www.WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blogs, www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com and www.IndyBaseballChatter.com, or comment to RWirz@aol.com.  The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)