Today on the blog we go and add former All-Star Felix Millan to my 1975 "In-Action" thread, a sub-set I hope to release in two series in the near future:
Millan
came to Shea from the Atlanta Braves, where he put up some excellent
Major league seasons, getting names to three straight All-Star teams and
winning two Gold Gloves.
While with the Mets he again was solid, collecting as many as 191 hits in a season (1975), which would stand for many years as the team record, hitting as high as .290 before a gruesome injury pretty much ended his career in 1977.
After Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ed Ott tried to break up a double-play, Millan took exception to the slide and exchanged words, leading to Millan striking Ott with his fist.
Ott, who
was a former wrestler, literally picked Millan up and slammed him down
onto his knee, injuring Millan's shoulder so badly it ended his career.
Just like that. Terrible.
All told, Millan played between
1966 and 1977, hitting .279 with 1617 hits in 5791 at-bats over 1480
games, scoring 699 runs and driving in 403 for the Braves and Mets.