Monday, March 2, 2009

1992 Upper Deck, Keith Miller



#383 Keith Miller

I got this card signed in 1993 at the mall when the Royals Caravan came to town. This was the same Royals Caravan that included Steve Shifflett and Kevin Koslofski. Obviously, it was not the best caravan stop that I have ever been to.

Keith had just come over to the Royals from the Mets. He was part of the Kevin McReynolds and Gregg Jefferies (and Miller) for Bret Saberhagen and Bill Pecota deal. That trade didn't really work out for either team. Saberhagen was hurt a bunch and Pecota only played one year for the Mets. For the Royals, McReynolds only played two seasons in KC (91 RBI in that span), Jefferies had a very decent year before being dealt to St. Louis for Felix Jose in the off-season, and Miller had a decent first year in KC before being hurt for most of the next three seasons. During those next three seasons, he only played in 51 games. So, overall, it was a neutral trade for both parties, although Kansas City might have benifitted from it more for the first year.

According to Wikipedia, Keith Miller is now an agent. He represents David Wright, Brandon Inge, and Scott Rolen.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hated that trade. While I was happy to get Kevin McReynolds out of town, I was one of the few people that still liked Gregg Jefferies in 1993. Miller was also a good guy who always hustled and just never seemed to get a fair shake.

Saberhagen must have been a wonderful pitcher for Kansas City when he was healthy, but I never liked him. And his lockerroom antics didn't exactly endear him to anyone. And Bill Pecota was Bill Pecota.

zman40 said...

That is funny that said that. I originally planned on putting the "Bill Pecota was Bill Pecota" line in my post. Then after I saw that he was with the Mets for a year, I used that instead.

I know that was not a very popular trade around here. After 1985, Bret Saberhagen could do no wrong. But, the Royals brass got rid of him at the right time, but for the wrong people.