St. Louis Cardinals (1957–61) After graduating from high school as an 18-year-old, Miller was pursued by 15 major league teams and chose to sign as a "
bonus baby" amateur free agent with the hometown
St. Louis Cardinals on June 20, 1957, receiving a signing bonus estimated at $20,000. Miller made his major league debut on June 26, less than a week after being signed to the team, pitching the final inning of an 11–3 loss to the
Philadelphia Phillies, with Miller giving up three hits, three walks and three runs. Miller pitched in four more games in the season, seeing a total of nine innings of work, all in relief, ending with an
earned run average (ERA) of 7.00. Once being called back to the Cardinals, he was in the majors for the rest of his career.
New York Mets (1962) In the
1961 MLB Expansion Draft held on October 10, 1961, the
New York Mets picked Miller as one of three players they selected from the Cardinals, joining catcher
Chris Cannizzaro and outfielder
Jim Hickman. One of two pitchers on the team's inaugural squad sharing the name Bob Miller, Mets manager
Casey Stengel would call this Bob Miller by the name "Nelson", either out of confusion or in order to distinguish him from
Bob G. Miller. Miller was the starting pitcher on the losing end of a
no-hitter pitched by
Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers on June 30, 1962, a 5–0 Mets loss. Miller took the loss, his sixth of the season, after giving up four runs (all earned) on five hits and a walk in only of an inning. In losing his first 12
decisions with the Mets, Miller tied a then-Major League record for losses by a pitcher at the start of the season. His 12
wild pitches that season ranked him fifth in the
National League, one ahead of
Bob Gibson.
Los Angeles Dodgers (1963–67) Miller was acquired by the
Los Angeles Dodgers from the Mets for
Larry Burright and
Tim Harkness on 1 December 1962. On May 8, 1963,
Stan Musial of the Cardinals hit a home run off of Miller in the fourth inning, giving Musial the 1,357th
extra base hit of his career, breaking the major league record that had been held by
Babe Ruth. In a game against the
Milwaukee Braves on August 13,
Warren Spahn struck out Miller for the 2,832nd strikeout of Spahn's career, setting a record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher that had been held by
Rube Waddell since . Miller finished the season with a 10–8 record and two saves in 42 appearances, an ERA of 2.89 and 125
strikeouts, the most wins in a season in his major league career and the only time he exceeded 100 strikeouts. His 23 games as starter represented the majority of his appearances and was his only season with the Dodgers in which he was primarily a starter; Miller was used primarily as a reliever and had only seven starts in his remaining four seasons with the team. Miller did not play in the Dodgers four-game sweep of the
New York Yankees in the
1963 World Series. He had a 6–7 record and nine saves in 61 appearances and a 2.97 ERA in . Miller had a 4–2 record and five saves in 45 relief appearances and a 2.77 ERA in . In the season, Miller had a 2–9 record with no saves in 52 appearances, with his ERA climbing to 4.31. Miller had an 0–3 record and two saves in 45 appearances (all in relief) and an ERA of 2.74 in the season.
Indians / White Sox / Cubs (1970) Miller's
journeyman travels started when he was traded by the Twins to the
Cleveland Indians on December 10, 1969, together with
Dean Chance,
Graig Nettles and
Ted Uhlaender, in exchange for
Luis Tiant and
Stan Williams. He appeared in 15 games for the Indians at the start of the , all but two in relief, ending with a 2–2 record and one save and an ERA of 4.18. He pitched in 15 games for the White Sox, all but three as a starter, and ended his time there with a 4–6 record and a 5.01 ERA. In his second game with the Cubs, Miller earned a save against the Mets, facing the final five batters in a 7–4 Cubs victory. Miller appeared in seven games for the Cubs, ending with no decisions and two saves in nine innings of work, and the Cubs fell short in their bid for a playoff spot. Miller continued his success in the bullpen, ending the season with the Pirates with a 1–2 record and three saves in 16 appearances, all in relief, finishing with a 1.29 ERA. He pitched in relief in three games in the
1971 World Series against the
Baltimore Orioles that the Pirates won in seven games, appearing in relief in all three Pirate losses (in the first, second and sixth games of the series), taking the loss in Game 6 when he gave up a
sacrifice fly to
Brooks Robinson that brought in the winning run.
Pittsburgh Pirates (1972) Miller stuck with the Pirates for the entire season, finishing with a 5–2 record and three saves in 36 appearances (all in relief) and an ERA of 2.65.
Padres / Tigers / Mets (1973) Miller was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 27, 1973, and signed as a free agent with the
San Diego Padres on April 2, 1973. In his brief second stint with the Padres, he appeared in 18 games, all in relief, had no decisions and a 4.11 ERA. The Mets made it to the
1973 World Series, losing to the
Oakland Athletics in seven games, but Miller was not placed on the postseason roster, as he had joined the team too late in the season. He was released by the Mets on October 1, 1974.
Career statistics ==Later career==