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Ray Miller, former Orioles manager and longtime pitching coach, dies

  • Former manager Ray Miller, right, at his Orioles Hall of...

    Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun

    Former manager Ray Miller, right, at his Orioles Hall of Fame induction.

  • Ray Miller, left, watches Jim Palmer pitch with manager Earl...

    PHILLIPS / Check with Baltimore Sun Photo

    Ray Miller, left, watches Jim Palmer pitch with manager Earl Weaver.

  • Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller gives instruction to his pitchers...

    RICK BOWMER / Associated Press

    Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller gives instruction to his pitchers during practice in February 2005 at spring training, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

  • Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken, right, walks to the dugout past...

    NICK WASS / Associated Press

    Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken, right, walks to the dugout past manager Ray Miller, left, at the start of the game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Wednesday, April 7, 1999, at Camden Yards in Baltimore, as Ripken sat out the game with a strained back.

  • Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller gives instruction to John...

    RICK BOWMER / AP

    Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller gives instruction to John Maine during practice Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005, at spring training, in Fort Lauderdale.

  • Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller talks about the upcoming season...

    JAMES A. FINLEY / AP

    Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller talks about the upcoming season with reporters prior to the start of workouts for pitchers and catchers at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in this Feb. 23, 1999 photo.

  • It took Baltimore Orioles Ray Miller, seen in this 1997...

    AP

    It took Baltimore Orioles Ray Miller, seen in this 1997 file photo, 12 years to get his next shot at being a big league manager, after the talent-strapped Twins fired him in 1986.

  • Dejected Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller, right, and catcher Mike...

    ROBERTO BOREA / AP

    Dejected Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller, right, and catcher Mike Figga watch from the dugout at Camden Yards in Baltimore Thursday, Sept. 30, 1999 as the New York Yankees celebrate clinching the American League East title.

  • Starter Sidney Ponson is congratulated on his first win by...

    DOUG KAPUSTIN / Baltimore Sun

    Starter Sidney Ponson is congratulated on his first win by pitching coach Ray Miller after leaving the field with six innings of work in. The Orioles defeat the Detroit Tigers 8-4 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Tuesday night.

  • Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller gives instruction to his...

    RICK BOWMER / Associated Press

    Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller gives instruction to his pitchers during practice Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005, at spring training, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

  • Former Oriole manager and pitching coach, Ray Miller, gives one...

    GENE SWEENEY JR / Baltimore Sun

    Former Oriole manager and pitching coach, Ray Miller, gives one of the remembrance speeches before the memorial services for Elrod Hendricks, long time Oriole coach/player.

  • Ray Miller, the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles, smiles...

    ROBERTO BOREA / AP

    Ray Miller, the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles, smiles during a press conference at Camden Yards Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1997, to introduce him as the team's new manager, replacing Davey Johnson, the American League manager of the year who quit last week in a dispute with the team's owner. At left is Mike Flanagan who became the team's new pitching coach.

  • Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller, left, congratulates reliever Mike Timlin...

    MATT BROWN / AP

    Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller, left, congratulates reliever Mike Timlin (40) after the Orioles beat the Anaheim Angels 4-2 Friday night, Sept. 17, 1999, in Anaheim, Calif. Timlin got his 22nd save of the season. At right is Baltimore catcher Charles Johnson. (AP Photo/Matt Brown)

  • Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller shows his frustration as he...

    NICK WASS / Associated Press

    Baltimore Orioles manager Ray Miller shows his frustration as he walks back to the dugout in the first inning after arguing a balk call on pitcher Pete Smith Wednesday, July 1, 1998, at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The balk resulted in Florida Marlins' Mark Kotsay scoring from third. The Marlins won 5-3, to extend the Orioles' losing streak to eight games. ORG XMIT: BAB101

  • Pitching coach Ray Miller greets Sammy Sosa following the outfielder's...

    DOUG KAPUSTIN / Baltimore Sun

    Pitching coach Ray Miller greets Sammy Sosa following the outfielder's first workout with the Baltimore Orioles at Ft. Lauderdale Stadium Wednesday morning.

  • Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller watches practice from behind...

    JAMES A. FINLEY / Associated Press

    Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller watches practice from behind the batting cage during spring training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Monday, March 28, 2005 before their game against the Florida Marlins.

  • Newly hired pitching coach Ray Miller chats with starter Rodrigo...

    Doug Kapustin / Baltimore Sun

    Newly hired pitching coach Ray Miller chats with starter Rodrigo Lopez after he completes seven inning of work against Atlanta. The Baltimore Orioles lose to the Atlanta Braves 5-0 Saturday afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore Sun Staff Photo/DOUG KAPUSTIN

  • Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller (34) talks with pitcher...

    ED ZURGA / Associated Press

    Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Ray Miller (34) talks with pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, left, as catcher Geronimo Gil looks on in the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, May 19, 2005, in Kansas City, Mo.

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Ray Miller, who managed the Orioles in the 1998 and 1999 seasons and served several tenures as Baltimore’s pitching coach, died this week, according to his family. He was 76.

Affectionately called “Rabbit” by his pitching staffs, Miller was known for his mantra of “Work fast, change speeds, throw strikes.” A right-handed pitcher born in Takoma Park, Miller played for 10 seasons in the minor league systems of the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and Orioles. After his career, he spent the 1974-1977 seasons working as a minor league coach for Baltimore.

He initially joined the Texas Rangers’ coaching staff for the 1978 campaign, but the Orioles’ pitching coach job came open, allowing Miller to begin the first of his three tenures in that role. He was Baltimore’s pitching coach when the club won the American League pennant in 1979 and the World Series in 1983. In 1979 and 1980, he coached respective AL Cy Young Award winners Mike Flanagan and Steve Stone.

“His legacy will forever be enshrined in our organization’s history, having guided some of the greatest Orioles pitchers including Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, Steve Stone, and Mike Boddicker,” the Orioles said in a statement. “We send our deepest condolences to his beloved family and his many friends throughout our great game.”

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, one of five 20-game winners Miller coached with the Orioles, recalled an intrasquad game in Miller’s first spring training as pitching coach in which Flanagan had issued a couple of walks.

“Ray sprints to the mound, and he goes, ‘Mike, your rhythm’s off. You need to calm down,'” Palmer said Wednesday. “He goes, ‘Ray, it’s spring training.’ [Ray] goes, ‘Ah, that’s a good point,’ turned around and ran right back to the dugout.

“He wanted to do well.”

Miller got his first managerial opportunity in 1985, taking over the Minnesota Twins in midseason. He led a team that had been 20 games under .500 at that point to a 50-50 finish, but the club struggled in 1986 and Miller was replaced in September. He spent the next decade as Jim Leyland’s pitching coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates, overseeing Doug Drabek’s 1990 Cy Young campaign, before becoming Davey Johnson’s pitching coach in Baltimore in 1997.

When Johnson resigned after the season, Miller replaced him as Baltimore’s manager, with Flanagan as his pitching coach. On Sept. 20, 1998, Cal Ripken Jr. came into Miller’s office and told him he was going to end his record streak of 2,632 consecutive games played.

“It was pretty emotional for me,” Miller said that night. “He told me one of the reasons he did this was me, and that really made me feel good. That’s the one time I choked up. He said it was his decision for several reasons, ‘And one of them was for you.’ And that made me feel pretty special.”

Under Miller, the Orioles won 79 and 78 games over the next two years, finishing no better than fourth in the AL East. He returned to the organization as pitching coach in 2004 and 2005, but surgery for an aortic aneurysm ended his coaching career. Miller was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2010.

When his Orioles managerial contract wasn’t renewed, Miller sent Palmer a note, thanking him for his support. They continued to share cards over the years, with Miller, a motorcycle enthusiast, telling stories of recent rides.

“He was a good listener,” Palmer said. “Ray was a great communicator. Ray didn’t just come out and bark things, whether you were throwing on the side or whatever, come out to the mound. He wasn’t going to do an Earl Weaver where you need to throw more sliders or whatever. It would always be more of a conversation. ‘What do we need to do to get a little bit better right here?'”