Kevin Millwood had an up and down Phillies career. The peak of his Phillies career was a no-hitter thrown at Veteran's Stadium on April 27, 2003. A low point came in his last start at Veteran's Stadium when he was booed off the mound and angrily threw his hat into the stands at fans. Yet, he came back for 2004. A report from MLB.com's Zach Meisel says that Millwood has decided to retire.
It seems so long ago that Millwood made his debut in an Atlanta Braves rotation. In 1997 Millwood made his debut for the Braves, going 5-3 with a 4.03 ERA. He would pitch five more seasons for the Braves behind the likes of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine before being traded to the Phillies for catcher Johnny Estrada. The deal was supposed to be a one-year rental.
After the 2003 season the Phillies traded for starter Eric Milton with the idea that he would replace Millwood in the front of the Phillies' rotation. But unable to get a long-term deal, Super-Agent Scott Boras accepted an offer for salary abitration from the Phillies and Millwood pitched another season for the Phillies. After the 2004 season that included a ligament injury, Boras still could not get a long-term deal for Millwood so he took a one-year deal from the Cleveland Indians (along with #34 from Cliff Lee). Finally, Boras got a mega-deal for Millwood from the Texas Rangers after the 2005 season, 5 years and $60 million. After pitching for the Rangers, Millwood pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, a minor-league stint with the Boston Red Sox, and 2012 with the Seattle Mariners.
For the Phillies, Millwood went 25-18 with an ERA in 60 total starts. Check out the box score from Millwood's no-hitter below, courtesy of Baseball Almanac, and a video reminder of the no-hitter in the MLB.com report. Click the image below to enlarge.
