A fighter for sure; he looked totally washed up after 2010. Fine career.
If you’re Bessemer City’s Kevin Millwood, there’s a lot of coaching youth sports, hunting and fishing in your future.
Millwood, a 1993 Bessemer City High graduate, said Friday during a celebration of his alma mater’s basketball history that his major league baseball career had come to an end…
After going 6-12 with a 4.25 ERA in 28 starts last season for the Mariners that included being a part of the second no-hitter of his career, Millwood says he told his agent, Scott Boras, that he only wanted to pitch “close to home,” indicating the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Rays were really the only two choices.
When neither team showed interest, Millwood said he’s enjoyed living in Gainesville, Ga., while coaching his 11-year-old (Kevin Jr.) and 10-year-old (Conley) sons in basketball and baseball…
Millwood said finishing his career after a solid season was important and he felt he did that last season with the Mariners.
“I feel like I can still throw it well and going out on a high note is a big deal,” Millwood said. “I just felt it was time to be closer to home and to be around the kids more often.”
The highlight of last season was the June no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Millwood went the first six innings before a groin injury forced him to the sideline; Five relievers pitched no-hit ball over the past three innings to complete the no-hitter.
“It was a cool experience,” said Millwood, who watched his teammates get the final nine outs from the training room. “But it was bittersweet to not be able to finish it out.
“I’d rather have gone on and lost it (the no-hitter) late in the game than not be able to complete it. But it was a special moment for my team, my teammates and me.”...
Millwood finished with a 169-152 pitching record during a career in which he made the All-Star team for the National League in 1999, threw a nine-inning no-hitter for the Phillies in 2003 against a San Francisco Giants lineup that included all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and led the American League in ERA (2.86) in 2005 for the Cleveland Indians.
