When Kevin Millwood takes the mound for the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, it'll mark the first time that the veteran right hander has toed the rubber at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington since being traded by the Rangers to the Baltimore Orioles in December 2009.
Millwood signed with the Rangers in December 2005, inking a five year, $60 million dollar contract. Though Millwood made at least 29 starts per season for the Rangers between 2006 and 2009, his tenure in Texas was anything but successful. Though he went 16-12 for the Rangers in 2006, Millwood pitched to the tune of a 4.52 ERA, which was good for a 102 ERA+ -- barely above league average.
2007 and 2008 weren't kind to Millwood. Millwood went 10-14 with a 5.16 ERA, 89 ERA+, and 1.62 WHIP in 2007, in what would easily qualify as a disaster season. Millwood was just as bad in 2008, as he pitched to the tune of a 9-10 record, with a 5.07 ERA, 88 ERA+ and 1.59 WHIP.
Millwood's tenure in Texas was salvaged in 2009, when he went 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA, 127 ERA+ and 1.33 WHIP -- easily his best season in Arlington. Millwood's success was enough to make the Baltimore Orioles interested in him, and Texas dealt him in December 2009 for Chris Ray and Ben Snyder.
It's unfortunate for both Rangers and Millwood that things just didn't work out. Rangers fans will be hoping that Millwood's track record in Arlington will continue on Wednesday night, as he pitches for the Mariners against his former club.
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