A storybook finish for an original St. Paul Saint

Even if the pitcher grooved the pitch for a 45-year-old man, Kevin Millar’s curtain call for the St. Paul Saints on Saturday was baseball perfect.

Millar, a former St. Paul Saint who went on to become a folk hero for the Boston Red Sox fans during their championship 2004 season, hadn’t faced live pitching in years when the Saints asked him to be one of their famous promotional moments and play one last game. He was a member of the original Saints team 25 years ago.

All they said was, ‘Daddy, hit a home run.’ Are you kidding?” Millar told the Pioneer Press. “I thought maybe I’d make contact and get a ball out of the infield. I’ll let them know Daddy went deep.”

He guessed fastball and that’s what he got.

He made $600 a month for the Saints way back when. By the time his big league career was over, he’d made more than $20 million.

He said he took the Saints up on their offer for one last game to show the young players with dreams that they can come true.