Early Eighties Mets Pitcher: Dyar Miller (1980-1981)

Dyar Miller was born on May 29, 1946 in Batesville, Indiana. The Indiana farmer attended Utah State University and got signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968.

The tall right hander was soon released & then signed on with the Baltimore Orioles. He was 12-10 with a 3.23 ERA at AA Dallas / Fort Worth in 1970 but remained at that level until 1973 due to the talented Orioles pitching depth at AAA. At AAA Rochester in 1974 he won another 12 games & then was 5-0 in 1975 posting a 2.20 ERA. He finally got a call up to the Orioles staff at age 29 that season.

As an Orioles reliever out of Earl Weaver’s bull pen, Miller was 6-3 with eight saves and a 2.72 ERA. In 1976 was second to O's reliever Tippy Martinez in saves by one game, as he posted seven saves going 2-4 while posting a 2.94 ERA. At the trade deadline in 1977 he was traded to the California Angels for Dick Drago.

He pitched well in Anaheim in 1978 going 6-2 with a save & a 2.66 ERA, out of their bull pen. His contract was purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays then he was sent to the Montreal Expos to complete an earlier deal. He was released after Spring Training 1980 & then signed as a free agent with the New York Mets that April.

He pitched 31 games as a middle reliever for the 1980 Mets, posting a strong 1.93 ERA going 1-2 with one save. Miller was usually good for two or even three innings of solid relief work. In 1981 he appeared in 23 games of the strike shortened season (1-0) with a 3.23 ERA. During the '81 baseball strike he worked on his Indiana farm, returning to the team after play resumed.

But Miller pitched his final game by early September & retired from the game at age 35. In his seven year career he went 23 -17 with 22 saves, a 3.23 ERA & 235 strike outs in 465 innings pitched over 251 appearances.

Retirement: Miller began a long career of coahing in 1985 starting within the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He became a coach for the 1987 & 1988 Chicago White Sox under Jim Fregosi.

In 1996 he began a long stretch coaching in the St. Louis Cardinals organization where he would work with his old frien Tony LaRussa. After a stint as manager of the AAA Memphis Rd Birds, Miller became Cardinals minor league pitching coordinator. In 2012 he had a rief stint as Cardnials bullpen coach. After that he let go by the organization for no apparent reason.

In 2014 he was named minor league pitching coordinator for the Houston Astros.