Managerial Career
Entering his first season as Indians Third Base Coach and his first season in the Indians organization...This marks his 35th season in professional baseball and 15th season as a Major League coach or manager...Rejoins Terry Francona for the first time since the 2009 season...Went to college, roomed and played professionally in Montreal with Francona in addition to coaching under him for 10 seasons...Was Tito's Bench Coach in Philadelphia from 1997-2000 and again in Boston from 2004-09 before spending three years guiding the Houston Astros from 2010-2012...Was removed from the position last August 18...During his first season in Houston (2010), the Astros finished 59-52 over their final 111 games and finished 1.0 game out of third place in the NL Central...After the season Brad received a sixth-place vote in the NL Manager of the Year voting...RED SOX: During his tenure with Boston and Francona, the Red Sox went to the postseason in five of the six seasons and won two World Series titles...Mills was a part of 45 postseason games in that span...Upon retiring as a player in 1986, Mills immediately became a manager in the Cubs farm system, making his debut in 1987 at 30 years of age for Rookie Level Wytheville in the Appalachian League...After six seasons with the Cubs, Mills joined the Rockies organization, managing their Triple-A Colorado Springs club from 1993-96...In 1995, Mills received the Rockies Player Development Man of the Year award after guiding his SkySox to the Pacific Coast League championship...Mills earned his first Major League coaching position in 1997 as first base coach for the Philadelphia Phillies, reuniting him with Francona...Served as an advance scout for the Cubs in 2001 before returning to the role of Minor League manager for the Dodgers' Triple A Las Vegas club in 2002, leading them to an 85-59 (.590) record and a first-place finish in the PCL's South Division...Mills returned to the Majors in 2003 as a bench coach for the Montreal Expos and manager Frank Robinson before joining the Red Sox in 2004.
Playing Career
Mills' professional playing career began in 1979 as a 17th-round Draft pick of the Expos out of the University of Arizona. He made his Major League debut for the Expos the next season on June 8, 1980, and went on to play parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues for the Expos from 1980-83, compiling a .256 career average in 106 big league games. He holds the distinction of being Nolan Ryan's historic 3,509th career strikeout victim on April 27, 1983, which lifted Ryan past Walter Johnson as baseball's all-time strikeout leader.
Mills went on to play three seasons in the Minor Leagues, including a two-year stint in the Astros system at Triple-A Tucson in 1984-85. His final season as a player was at Double-A Iowa in 1986 while in the Cubs organization.
Personal
Mills and his wife, Ronda, reside in Visalia, Calif., and have three children: Taylor Candice, Rochelle Cathleen and Beau Bradley, and three grandchildren: Aubrey, Kensie and Jack. Their son Beau was a first-round Draft pick (13th overall) of the Cleveland Indians in 2007 and spent the 2011 season with Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. In November of 2010, Mills had his No. 7 baseball jersey retired by Exeter Union (Calif.) High School, where he graduated from in 1975.
