Been a little while since I added to my long running "Nicknames of the 1970s" thread, so today I post up my 1977 edition for former all-star second baseman Felix Millan, aka "The Cat":
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.
