1976 Topps #245 - Felix Millan

• Felix Millan was a second baseman for the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets from 1966-1977. He was originally signed by the Kansas City A's in 1964. Felix was taken by the Milwaukee Braves in the first year players draft in 1965 and played in their system from 1965-1967. Millan made his major league debut on June 2, 1966. In 1966 he batted .275 in 91 at bats as a backup infielder.

• In 1967 Felix was with the Braves in April and May and then spent most of the rest of the season in AAA Richmond, where he batted .310. He was recalled in September and ended up batting .235 in 136 AB.

• Millan became the Braves' starting second baseman in 1968 and held that position through the 1972 season. In '68 he batted .289 in 570 at bats, quite good for that offensively-starved season. Felix was an NL All Star in 1969 (he was 2-4 with a double, a run scored, and 2 RBI) and also won his first Gold Glove. He batted .267 in 652 AB and scored 98 runs.

• Felix made the All Star team again in 1970 but didn't play due to an injury. He played in 142 games and batted a career-high .310. Millan also scored 100 runs. In 1971 Felix was a late-inning defensive replacement in the All Star Game. He batted .289 in 143 games that season.

• Millan missed 2 1/2 weeks in July and played in only 125 games, but he still managed to win his second Gold Glove. Felix batted .257 and after the season he was traded with George Stone to the Mets for Danny Frisella and Gary Gentry.

• In 1973 Millan had a good comeback year (.290 in 153 games). He was the Mets' starting second baseman from 1973 until the end of his major league career in 1977. Felix missed two weeks in 1974, but he still led the NL in sacrifice hits with 24. In 1975 he led the NL in hit by pitch (12) and in games played (162).

• Millan's last full season was 1976. He batted .282 in 139 games. In 1977 Felix played in 91 games and batted only .248. His last major league game was on August 12, 1977. He and Ed Ott got tangled up at second base when Ott slid in hard to break up a double play. Felix shouted at Ott with the baseball in his hand, prompting Ott to slam Felix down to the turf. Millan hurt his shoulder and missed the rest of the season.

• After the 1977 season Millan's contract was bought by the Taiyo Whales of the Japanese Central League. Felix played in Japan from 1978-1980. He won the Japanese batting title in 1979 but had a bad year in 1980 and was released.

• Here is an "Ultimate Mets Database" entry about Felix. Now he does some instruction in Florida and does the "Dream Week" camps for the Braves and the Mets.