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PERSONAL:
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- Miles grew up in Antioch, California, a city of 100,000 located 80 miles west of Sacramento, California. From the age of five years old, Aaron had a real love for competition. His mother Fran, an aide at the high school, provided support. His father Herb, a former boxer turned microbiologist who once sparred with George Foreman, provided direction and instruction.
"I was doing push-ups and pull-ups and he would bring out the video camera and tell me to try and break my record," Miles recalled fondly. "He had a good way of making hard work fun."
Aaron especially liked wrestling and football. But his real passion was baseball. When he was 14, his father built a batting cage in their backyard - one that still stands. Aaron would hit until his hands bled, driven to succeed in a family that produced a cheerleader and homecoming queen (sister Tammy) and a college football player (younger brother Kevin). "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for that cage," Miles told Denver Post writer Troy Renck before 2004 Spring Training.
- At Antioch High School, Miles developed into one of the school's greatest players, making all-league three times and helping his team claim two mythical state championships. John Whitman, his coach, saw in Miles a rare blend of talent and desire.
"His senior year I was doing a lot of interviews because we were ranked nationally. I would be standing with my back to the field and I always knew when Aaron was hitting. The ball just came off his bat differently," Whitman said. "That swing was self-made. He will outhustle you, outwork you. If you were sliding into second base, good luck, because that bag was his."
- Miles grew up in Pittsburg, California, which is about 45 minutes from San Francisco, but Miles followed Tony La Russa's A's, not the Giants, when he was a kid. Aaron was a big Oakland A's fan.
- In 1999, while with the Michigan Battle Cats (Astros), Aaron's .317 batting avg. was fifth in the Midwest League.
- During 2000 Spring Training in Kissimmee, Florida, where the Houston Astros have their Spring Camp, Miles was returning from dinner, craving sleep before the next morning's practice. As he walked along the second-floor cement balcony to his hotel room, he wasn't worried when he saw his door was wide open. Everyone else on the floor was also a ballplayer, turning the rooms into community socials. Miles took out his contact lenses and went to bed, figuring his roommate would return any minute.
Moments later, the door slammed against the wall, startling Miles. Two men dressed in camouflage and combat boots pointed guns at his head. Only an hour earlier, Miles was sitting at a restaurant with his Uncle Clyde talking about how lucky he was to be living his dream of playing professional baseball. During the next 40 minutes, he became involved in an increasingly desperate drama to save his life.
There was no way I was going to die," Miles said, "without a fight." That is the beauty of Miles, friends say. He confronts challenges with a clenched fist. He doesn't have the God-given talent of Barry Bonds or even Bret Boone. And he certainly doesn't have their physiques.
It was just past 11 p.m. on March 12, 2000. The two gunmen, unbeknownst to Miles, already had subdued five of his teammates (Morgan Ensberg and Keith Ginter were two of them) and a player's wife in the adjacent room. After taking their money and cellphones, the robbers hog-tied their hostages with plastic-twist handcuffs and threw blankets over their heads. Upon hearing Miles turn on the TV through the wall, one of the gunmen declared, "We have some company coming for you guys."
"They were going to get Aaron," said Mike Rose, a catcher in the Astros organization then, and one of the players held captive. "I knew that might be my only chance to do something." Rose, unsure if the gunmen had left because he never heard the door close, struggled to break free. The plastic around his ankles and wrists slowly began to give - "For some reason I remembered my Dad telling me that once you start stretching plastic, don't stop," Rose said.
The shackle finally snapped. Mike Rose quickly ripped off duct tape covering his mouth, shut the door and searched for the phone. He found it under the bed, called the front desk and told them to call police. Within minutes, law enforcement officials swarmed the parking lot. As the gunmen tried to force Miles into the room with the other captives, sirens greeted them. One gunman jumped off the balcony and initially eluded capture.
Alexander Williams, the second gunman, shoved Miles back into the player's room. With Williams holed up with Miles, police quickly shuttled Rose and the other hostages to safety from the other room. For the next 35 minutes, Miles listened as Williams grew more antsy, declaring "that he wasn't going back to jail and would go out shooting."
Miles, a good student who turned down a baseball scholarship to Cal-Berkeley, attempted to calm his nerves, advising Williams at one point to put on his Houston Astros uniform for a disguise in order to walk out safely. "He was still thinking on his feet in a scary situation," said Mike Saunders, the deputy chief of the Felony Bureau of the ninth judicial circuit, who prosecuted the case. "But you can never tell what a rat's going to do when cornered."
Williams, using the gun to get his way, led Miles to the room's picture window. As Williams pulled back the curtain, Miles could make out the gun on his right cheek. Convinced he would never be set free, Miles grabbed the barrel. A violent struggle ensued. Miles secured the weapon. Williams retaliated by jumping on Miles' back. Miles squatted and slammed Williams backward into the wall. The two fell, and with Williams lunging for the gun, Miles screamed for the police to enter the room.
Rose watched nervously as an officer bashed the window with a butt of a shotgun while a second policeman rammed through the door brandishing a pistol. They ordered Williams to surrender. He refused, and with Miles still lying on top of him, the gunman was shot multiple times while grasping for the gun.
Miles raced out of the room and bear-hugged Rose. His mouth was dripping with blood. The muscle in his back was exposed from a bite wound. "It looked like he had been attacked by a pit bull," Rose said. "But I am convinced at that moment, Aaron could have fought Mike Tyson and won."
Left partially paralyzed by the gunshots, Williams, 25, was sentenced to life in prison November 28, 2001, on four counts of armed robbery. Robert Lucas, 21, the getaway driver, is serving 10 years in prison. Richard Cook, 28, believed by Saunders to be the second gunman, agreed to a plea on kidnapping and burglary charges and received a five-year sentence. A fourth accomplice, Patricia Burns, served two years under house arrest. Miles' testimony helped convict Williams and Lucas.
Miles, who missed only one day of practice after the incident, said the experience changed him. Little things stopped bothering him. He approached baseball with less stress. Still, he was concerned he never would make it. He struggled for what seemed like forever in the minors with the Astros because of injuries and inconsistent defense.
- In 2002, Miles was named the Southern League's Most Valuable Player. Aaron led the loop in hits and doubles while with the Birmingham Barons.
- During 2003 Spring Training, Aaron was a non-roster invitee by the White Sox and hit .299 with a home run and 10 RBI. He hung around until the final cut before camp broke.
- Miles has a lot of passion for the game. He is a hard-nosed, scrappy player who has good instincts -- a nose for the ball.
- Aaron has been blocked on his path to the Majors by good players. Originally signed by Houston, where he spent six years, Miles was blocked by the presence of Craig Biggio in the Big Leagues.
He went to the Chicago White Sox organization in 2001, he was considered important to filling out minor league rosters, but the White Sox initially had Ray Durham in the Big Leagues. Then there was Willie Harris, who was a more touted prospect. And in 2003, they brought in Roberto Alomar.
- December 2, 2003: The Rockies sent SS Juan Uribe to the White Sox, acquiring Miles.
- 2004: Miles was chosen to play second base for Greece in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. "A couple of years ago in Spring Training, they asked if there were any players with Greek ancestry," Miles said before 2004 Spring Training. "I raised my hand -- a year or two later they told me they wanted me to play for the team in the Olympics. My grandmother is Greek but she wasn't born in Greece, but my great-grandfather was. At first the rule was at least your grandparents, but there were a couple of players they wanted, so they changed the rule."
- On April 14, 2004, Miles became the first player in Rockies history to homer from both sides of the plate. And, he became just the fifth player in Major League history to accomplish the feat for his first two career homers. Others were: Johnny Lucadello for the St. Louis Browns on September 16, 1940; U.L. Washington for Kansas City on September 21, 1979; Bret Barberie for Montreal on August 2, 1991; Brian Simmons for the Chicago White Sox on September 26, 1998. In addition, Miles' six RBIs tied the Rockies' rookie mark. Derrick Gibson did it on September 20, 1999 against Arizona.
- August 24, 2004: Aaron's (now, former) wife, Courtney Hines, gave birth to their daughter, Nicole Dakoda. On August 23, 2007, Courtney gave birth to their second child, a son, named Jackson Tyler.
Aaron and Courtney were divorced in 2009.
- November 20, 2004: Miles was treated to "Aaron Miles Day" in his native Antioch, California, receiving the key to the city.
- On July 20, 2008, Aaron hit a game-ending grand slam home run to turn defeat to victory for St. Louis. Miles’ grand slam was the 10th game-ending grand slam in Cardinals history. The others were hit by Gary Bennett, David Eckstein, Tom Herr, Darrell Porter, Roger Freed, Joe Hague, Carl Taylor, Joe Cunningham and Pepper Martin.
TRANSACTIONS
- December 7, 2005: The Cardinals sent P Ray King to the Rockies, acquiring Miles and OF Larry Bigbie.
- December 12, 2006: Aaron signed a one-year $1 million contract with the Cardinals. The pact also had some incentives: Miles can earn $25,000 each for 250 and 300 plate appearances, and $50,000 each for 350, 400, 450 and 500 plate appearances.
- December 12, 2007: The Cardinals parted ways with Miles, choosing not to tender a contract to him, so Aaron became a free agent.
But he re-signed with the Cards on January 4, 2008 -- a one-year, $1.4 million contract.
- December 12, 2008: The Cardinals didn't offer Miles a contract for 2009, making him a free agent.
- December 28, 2008: Aaron signed a 2-year, $4.9 million contract with the Cubs.
- December 3, 2009: The A's traded RHP Jeff Gray, OF Matt Spencer and RHP Ronny Morla to the Chicago Cubs, acquiring Miles, 3B Jake Fox and cash.
- February 1, 2010: The Reds sent INF Adam Rosales and OF Willy Taveras to the A's, acquiring Miles.
- April 12, 2010: The Reds released Miles.
- April 27, 2010: Aaron signed with the Cardinals organization.
- February 7, 2011: Miles signed with the Dodgers organization.
- May 12, 2012: Aaron signed with the Dodgers again. He had apparently priced himself out of the free-agent market over the winter and went unsigned until six weeks into the regular season.
- June 13, 2012: Miles announced he was retiring.
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