View source for Eric Milton

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1975)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name=Eric Milton
| image=DSC04421 Eric Milton.jpg
| caption=Milton with the Los Angeles Dodgers 
| position=[[Pitcher]]
| bats=Left
| throws=Left
| birth_date={{Birth date and age|1975|8|4}}
| birth_place=[[State College, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate=April 5
| debutyear=1998
| debutteam=Minnesota Twins
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate=June 27
| finalyear =2009
| finalteam = Los Angeles Dodgers
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
| stat1value=89–85
| stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
| stat2value=4.99
| stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
| stat3value=1,127
| teams=
*[[Minnesota Twins]] ({{Baseball year|1998}}–{{Baseball year|2003}})
*[[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{Baseball year|2004}})
*[[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{Baseball year|2005}}–{{Baseball year|2007}})
*[[Los Angeles Dodgers]] ({{Baseball year|2009}})
|highlights=
* [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2001]])
* Pitched [[no-hitter]] on September 11, 1999
}}
'''Eric Robert Milton''' (born August 4, 1975) is an American former [[Major League Baseball]] [[left-handed]] [[starting pitcher]] who played for several teams between 1998 and 2009, and is currently the head coach at [[Severna Park High School]].

==Amateur career==
A native of [[State College, Pennsylvania]], Milton graduated from [[Bellefonte Area High School]] in [[Bellefonte, Pennsylvania]] and attended the [[University of Maryland, College Park]]. In 1996 while at Maryland, Milton played [[collegiate summer baseball]] for the [[Falmouth Commodores]] of the [[Cape Cod Baseball League]] (CCBL). A league all-star, he held opponents to a .105 batting average and set a league record with his microscopic 0.21 ERA. In 2004, Milton was inducted into the [[Cape Cod Baseball League#Hall of Fame and Museum|CCBL Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://capecodbaseball.org/news/hofnews/?article_id=229 |title=Ten Legends to be Inducted into Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame |publisher=capecodbaseball.org |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>

==Major league career==

===Minnesota Twins===
Milton was selected by the [[New York Yankees]] in the 1st round (20th pick) of the [[1996 Major League Baseball draft]]; he was drafted as a compensation pick from the [[Los Angeles Angels|California Angels]] for the signing of [[Randy Velarde]]. He played one season in the Yankees minor league system. The [[New York Yankees]] traded Milton, [[Cristian Guzmán]], [[Brian Buchanan]], and [[Danny Mota]] to the [[Minnesota Twins]] for [[Chuck Knoblauch]] on February 6, 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1998/02/07/yanks-get-knoblauch-in-a-deal-with-twins/dea19e07-1313-4936-a09d-5682bb43eef4/|title=Yanks Get Knoblauch in a Deal With Twins|first=Mark|last=Maske|newspaper=Washington Post|date=February 7, 1998|accessdate=November 10, 2023}}</ref>

He made his Major League debut on April 5, 1998, for the Twins against the [[Kansas City Royals]], working six scoreless innings to pick up the victory. He was 8–14 in his debut season with a 5.64 ERA in 32 starts.

On September 11, 1999, he struck out 13 batters in pitching a 7–0 [[no-hitter]] against the [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|Anaheim Angels]], the fifth no-hitter in Twins history.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/9/26/index.htm |work=CNN |title=Most Popular |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526010015/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/9/26/index.htm |archive-date=May 26, 2008 |df=mdy }}</ref> He finished the season with an ERA a full run lower than in his previous season, lowering it to 4.49 in 34 starts. He also completed 5 games with 2 shutouts.

In 2000, Milton went 13–10 in 33 starts. He led the team in wins.

In 2001, Milton enjoyed the best season of his career, going 15–7 with a career low 4.32 ERA and pitching in a career high 220 innings.

In 2002, Milton made just 29 starts due to injury. He walked a career low 30 batters, he finished the season 13–9 with a 4.84 ERA in a career low 171 innings. He was limited to 3 starts in 2003 due to a knee injury.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 7, 2003|title=Notebook: Milton's knee injury deals Twins setback|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20030307/base07/notebook-miltons-knee-injury-deals-twins-setback|work=Seattle Times |location=Seattle, Washington|access-date=October 30, 2018}}</ref>

With Minnesota, Milton had a record of 57–51, with 715 strikeouts and a 4.76 ERA, and was selected to the 2001 AL [[2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] team. He went 1–0 with a 1.65 ERA with the Twins in the 2002 and 2003 playoffs, and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher [[Carlos Silva (baseball)|Carlos Silva]] and infielder [[Nick Punto]] following the 2003 season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/216050441.html|title=Stu's Hunt Down: The Twins' Second Eric Milton trade|website=[[Star Tribune]]}}</ref>

===Philadelphia Phillies===
Milton led the Phillies in wins, starts and strikeouts in 2004, going 14–6 with a 4.75 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 34 starts. He took a no-hitter into the 9th inning on July 25 against the Cubs but lost it before recording an out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200407250.shtml |title=July 25, 2004 Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies Play by Play and Box Score |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |date=July 25, 2004 |access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref>

===Cincinnati Reds===
At the end of the 2004 season, he signed a three-year, $25&nbsp;million contract as a [[free agent]] with [[Cincinnati Reds|Cincinnati]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=1953873|title = Reds sign Eric Milton to three-year deal}}</ref> His record in 2005 with Cincinnati was 8–15 with a 6.47 ERA, one of the worst ERA's for a full-time starter in NL history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/05top10s/reds.html |title=Top 10 Prospects: Cincinnati Reds |publisher=Baseball America |access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref> The following season, Milton lowered his ERA to 5.19 despite giving up 29 home runs in 26 starts. He finished 8–8 in just 26 starts after missing 3 weeks to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/20/AR2006052001077.html| title = Reds Activate Milton; McCann Injured| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

After lingering elbow problems in 2007, Milton underwent Tommy John surgery after just 4 starts, ending his season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2901263|title=Reds pitcher Milton to have season-ending surgery|date=June 12, 2007}}</ref>

Due to his poor performance and high contract, [[National Public Radio|NPR]] of Minnesota called him a bust, [[ESPN]] named him to their all-overpaid team, and ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' named him as the only pitcher on their all bust team, noting he gave up one home run per 11.9 batters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/baseball/archive/2008/04/what_happened_t_1.shtml |title=What happened to Eric Milton? &#124; The Bleacher Bums |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://firebrandal.com/2005/12/01/the-worst-contracts-in-baseball.html |title=The Worst Contracts in Baseball - Fire Brand of the American League |website=firebrandal.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525013108/http://firebrandal.com/2005/12/01/the-worst-contracts-in-baseball.html |archive-date=2009-05-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=David SchoenfieldPage 2 (Archive) |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=schoenfield/070406&sportCat=mlb |title=Schoenfield: MLB's all-overpaid team – ESPN Page 2 |publisher=ESPN  |date=April 11, 2007 |access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/tom_verducci/06/28/all.bust/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050630004406/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/tom_verducci/06/28/all.bust/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 30, 2005 |title=SI.com – Writers – Tom Verducci: My 2005 All-Bust Team – Tuesday June 28, 2005 1:17&nbsp;pm |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=June 28, 2005 |access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.getsportsinfo.com/?tag=/gary+majewski |title=GetSportsInfo.com &#124; All posts tagged 'gary majewski' |publisher=Blog.getsportsinfo.com |access-date=July 21, 2010}}</ref>

===New York Yankees===
He left the Reds as a free agent after the 2007 season and went unsigned due to his injury history until signing a minor league deal with the [[New York Yankees]] on July 11, 2008.<ref>[http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/07/yankees_sign_eric_milton_to_mi.html Yankees sign Eric Milton to minor-league deal – New York Yankees baseball – NJ.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  He never pitched for any of the Yankees minor league teams during 2008 however and was shortly released.

===Los Angeles Dodgers===
Milton signed a minor league contract with the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] on February 10, 2009<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090214001004/http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090210&content_id=3816412&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la Dodgers add Milton to pitching mix]</ref> with an invitation to spring training. He did not make the Major League team and was assigned to the AAA [[Albuquerque Isotopes]] to open the season. In 7 starts with the Isotopes, Milton was 3–2 with a 2.83 ERA. His contract was purchased by the Dodgers on May 14 and on May 16, Milton made his first appearance in the Major leagues since 2007 when he started for the Dodgers against the [[Florida Marlins]].

On May 26, Milton made his second start of the season for the Dodgers against the [[Colorado Rockies]] at [[Coors Field]]. He worked five innings in the Dodgers 7–1 victory, recording his first Major League win since September 12, 2006. He made a total of five starts for the Dodgers, with a 2–1 record and a 3.80 ERA.

His season ended when he underwent surgery to remove a herniated disk on July 14.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090716191100/http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090714&content_id=5875808&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la Dodgers' Milton likely done for season]</ref>

==Coaching==
Milton joined the [[Maryland Terrapins]] baseball program in September 2011 as an assistant coach.<ref name=milton_coach_terps>{{cite web|last=Barker|first=Jeff|title=Eric Milton joins Terps baseball staff|url=http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/maryland_terps/blog/2011/09/eric_milton_joins_terps_baseball_staff.html|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=September 8, 2011}}</ref> On June 28, 2012, Milton was named the interim head coach of the Terrapins after head coach Erik Bakich left to take the head coaching position at the University of Michigan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Milton Named Interim Baseball Coach |url=http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/062812aaa.html |publisher=University of Maryland |access-date=28 June 2012 |date=28 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815191642/http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/062812aaa.html |archive-date=August 15, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bakich Named Head Coach at Michigan |url=http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/062712aaa.html |publisher=University of Maryland |access-date=28 June 2012 |date=27 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815191642/http://www.umterps.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/062712aaa.html |archive-date=August 15, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref>

Eric was named Head Coach of the [[Severna Park High School]] Baseball team in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.severnaparkvoice.com/stories/eric-milton-welcomed-as-new-sphs-baseball-coach,26386?|title = Eric Milton Welcomed as New SPHS Baseball Coach| date=March 12, 2013 }}</ref> He coached his oldest son, Kody during the 2015 - 2018 seasons, coming close to winning the State Championship during his son's senior season <ref name="b128">{{cite news | last=Pell | first=Samantha | title=Howard wins first Maryland 4A baseball title in walk-off win over Severna Park | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2018-05-26 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/highschools/howard-wins-first-maryland-4a-baseball-title-in-walk-off-win-over-severna-park/2018/05/25/cc8e9c52-602a-11e8-a4a4-c070ef53f315_story.html | access-date=2025-01-25}}</ref>

One of the players he coached was [[Jackson Merrill]] during his time at Severna Park High School. Merrill made his debut with the [[San Diego Padres]] in 2024.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters]]

{{Clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=132980 |espn=3783|br=m/miltoer01 |fangraphs=743 |brm=milton001eri}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=[[No-hitter]] pitcher |before=[[David Cone]]| years= September 11, 1999 |after=[[Hideo Nomo]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{1996 MLB Draft}}
{{New York Yankees 1st round}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milton, Eric}}
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Centre County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Maryland Terrapins baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Maryland Terrapins baseball players]]
[[Category:Falmouth Commodores players]]
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from State College, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Tampa Yankees players]]
[[Category:Norwich Navigators players]]
[[Category:Fort Myers Miracle players]]
[[Category:Albuquerque Isotopes players]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Inland Empire 66ers players]]
[[Category:People from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania]]