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 Note, this was written prior to Strasburg's excellent start (6 innings, 9 Ks, one run allowed) in a loss to the Royals. Server problems prevented me from posting it until now.
Everyone has been, rightfully, very excited for the young career of Stephen Strasburg, such that he’s even being mentioned as a potential All Star after just thee starts. And it has been an incredible start for St. Stephen (32 Ks, 5 BBs, 2-0, 1.86). But it’s not the most impressive start I can remember. Not when there’s a man called Milacki. After all, Bob Milacki started three games at the end of 1988 in which he gave up 2 runs in 25 innings (with 18 Ks and 9 BBs), and finished the year 2-0 with a 0.72 ERA. And Bob Milacki was no one’s idea of an All Star.
Of course, Milacki didn’t have Strasburg’s pedigree, but the Orioles did have high hopes for their big right hander. Milacki was a second round draft choice by the Orioles in 1983, though the draft was pretty horrible all around. Odibbe McDowell was the first choice, followed quickly by Robby Thompson. Relievers Brad Arsnberg, Rob Dibble, and Mike Henneman also came off the board in the first two rounds, and Jody Reed was the last pick of Round 2. Other than that, it was a total bust for everyone involved.
Milacki was 19 at the time, and pitching for Yavapai Community College (YCC) in Prescott, Arizona (Curt Schilling’s alma mater). At 6’4” and well over 200 lbs, he had the body of a workhorse. Indeed, his listed height and weight on BR.com is identicle to Strasburg’s. Unlike Strasburg, however, Milacki did not have the track record of success to that point. For YCC, Milacki went 4-4 with a 5.54 ERA. He struck out 17 batters and walked 30 in 39 innings. But the O’s wanted him desperately in the middle of a bad draft.
Bob Milacki made steady progress through the Baltimore system despite middling results. He apparently struggled through some shoulder and elbow problems in ‘84 and ‘5, but 1986 was particularly trying for the young pitcher. His 4.75 ERA across 12 starts at High-A Hagerstown was bad enough, but Milacki apparently gave up 59 runs in 60 innings (27 were unearned), despite pitching for the team with the second fewest errors in the Carolina League. His walk rate soared to 5.5 per 9 innings. Despite the horrible stretch, he did get promoted to make a single start at AA Charlotte before the end of the year. He spent all of 1987 in Charlotte, where he proved extremely hittable, except for one night that allowed Orioles brass to dream.
On May 28, Milacki took the mound against the Chattanooga Lookouts with about 900 fans watching. He retired the first three batters he faced. Then the next three. Then the next three. Then three more, three more, and three more. Finally, in the sixth inning, he gave up a walk. But Chattanooga remained hitless. They were toothless in the seventh, but scratched across a run in the eighth thanks to a walk, sacrifice, flyout, and wild pitch. Milacki went into the ninth tied with Chattanooga 1-1, having given up no hits. Once more, he set the Lookouts down without a hit, and the game went into extra innings. According to the Associated Press, Milacki was sitting on just 72 pitches, so his manager Greg Biagini sent him out to pitch the tenth. Again, Milacki set the Lookouts down. So he went back out to throw the eleventh. Ditto. Finally, with one out in the 12th, Greg Briley managed a single against Bob Milacki. The big right hander finished the inning unscathed, and even threw a scoreless 13th. In the top of the 14th, Charlotte finally scored again, and Milacki was pulled. He wound up getting the win after throwing 13 innings and 115 pitches, and giving up just a single hit and three walks, with six strikeouts.
Milacki joked about his experience afterwards with the press, saying “Getting past the ninth inning relieved a lot of the pressure. Everything else was a bonus....[By the 12th,] I thought it was about time they got one; I wasn’t disappointed at all.” It was an impressive fluke, as Milacki claimed not even to have his best stuff, “I didn’t really have the nasty stuff you usally see in no-hitters. I threw my fastball for strikes, and my curve and changeup for strikes, too. It was like they were hitting the ball off the bad part of the bat.”
The rest of the season was, of course, less successful for Milacki, who posted a 4.56 ERA, and 1.581 WHIP over the rest of the season. But 1988 was different. While the big league Orioles scuffled to a 54-107 record, Milacki thrived at Charlotte and AAA Rochester, winning 15 games and posting a 2.65 ERA. He earned a September callup, and was scheduled to face a strong Tigers team on September 18. Milacki brought his A game, giving up a single hit (a double to Tom Brookens) and four walks over 8 innings before being replaced by Tom Niedenfuer. Five days later, he faced Detroit again, and threw eight strong innings (2 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks), but got a no decision. He finished off his season in style against the New York Yankees on September 28, pitching a three hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, to seriously damage the Bombers’ chances to stay in the AL East race. Baltimore won just three games in its last 20, and Milacki had started all three of them.
 Obviously, hopes were high headed into 1989 for Milacki, who was scheduled to be part of a young and strong rotation that included Jeff Ballard, Jose Bautista, and Pete Harnisch. Youngsters Curt Schilling and Ben McDonald were promising arms on the rise. And the team did get yeoman’s work out of both Ballard and Milacki. In fact, Milacki did more than his share, leading the AL in starts (36) and finishing 5th in innings (243). Despite a rough strikeout rate (4.2 per 9 innings) and a weak K/BB ratio (1.28), Milacki managed a league average ERA (3.74) and 14 wins. In a Sports Illustrated retrospective article in October, Peter Gammons wrote, “[Frank] Robinson and pitching coach Al Jackson have masterfully manipulated what amounts to a four-man pitching staff: Jeff Ballard and rookie Bob Milacki starting, Mark Williamson in the middle and Olson closing. Robinson has had to juggle the third and fourth spots in the rotation; from Aug. 17 through Sunday, Baltimore was 16-4 with Ballard and Milacki starting, 5-11 with anyone else” But the Orioles hada terrific turnaround, finishing 2nd in the AL East, two games back of the Blue Jays.
Milacki was probably overworked, as he averaged almost 109 pitches per start from July16 through September 23. He was used on three days rest 11 times. For a 24 year old with a history of shoulder and elbow troubles, the load was too heavy. In August of 1990, after scuffling to a 4-8 record with a 4.63 ERA, Milacki was shelved with a “tired arm.” In September, he came back, but was used mostly out the bullpen. He would suffer from bouts of shoulder trouble and ineffectiveness for the rest of his career.  Milacki was cut after a terrible 1992, and drifted around the league until 1996. Since then, Milacki has become a pitching coach, and currently toils for the Reading Phillies. He won just 39 games as a major leaguer.
Strasburg, of course, seems poised to do much more, particularly as he's a much better prospect than Milacki was. Still, Prior only won 42.
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