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Andrew Miller (baseball)

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Andrew Miller
Miller with the Cleveland Indians in 2016
Cleveland Indians – No. 24
Relief pitcher
Born: (1985-05-21) May 21, 1985 (age 39)
Gainesville, Florida
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 30, 2006, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Win–loss record43–41
Earned run average4.22
Strikeouts713
Saves49
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Andrew Mark Miller (born May 21, 1985) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Yankees. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before the Tigers drafted him. Primarily a starting pitcher early in his major league career, Miller converted to full-time relief in 2012 while pitching for Boston, and sustained success followed. He won the American League Reliever of the Year Award in 2015, and was selected as an MLB All-Star for the first time in 2016.

Miller played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and was the Baseball America College Player of the Year and Roger Clemens Award winner in 2006. The Tigers chose him sixth overall in the 2006 amateur draft, and he made his MLB debut that same year after three minor league appearances. Miller was traded by the Tigers to Florida after the 2007 season, then traded to Boston after the 2010 season. The Red Sox traded Miller to the Orioles in 2014, and Miller signed as a free agent with the Yankees after the season. The Yankees traded Miller to the Indians during the 2016 season.

College

After graduating from Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida, Miller attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While pitching for the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team, Miller set the Carolina single season (133) and career strikeout records (325). He was also third in Tar Heels' history with 27 wins and fourth in total innings pitched with 309. He was named Baseball America National Player of the Year and Roger Clemens Award winner as the nation's top collegiate pitcher. He was also named to the first team All-America for Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, NCBWA and Rivals.com

In the summer of 2005 Miller pitched for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was named the College Summer Player of the Year by Baseball America and rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Cape League by the publication.[citation needed]

Miller was selected as a finalist in 2006 for the Golden Spikes Award by USA Baseball.

On January 30, 2016, UNC recognized him for all his accomplishments during his time at UNC. During the halftime of UNC versus Boston College, they retired his #33.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

Although Miller was considered a possible first overall selection in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, the Kansas City Royals instead took Luke Hochevar,[1] and the Detroit Tigers chose Miller sixth overall.[2] They agreed to a contract with a guaranteed value of $5.45 million and a signing bonus of $3.55 million on August 4, 2006. He made his professional debut on August 20, 2006, with the Lakeland Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. His stint with Lakeland lasted less than a week, as he pitched his third and final outing six days later. After five scoreless innings, Detroit called him up to the major leagues.

Miller during his tenure with the Detroit Tigers in 2007

Detroit Tigers

Miller made his major league debut on August 30, 2006 against the New York Yankees, pitching one scoreless inning and allowing only one baserunner on a hit by pitch. In eight games, Miller posted a 0–1 record with a 6.10 ERA. The Tigers advanced to the playoffs and Miller was not included on the playoff roster. They lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 World Series.

While Miller did not make the opening day roster for the Tigers in 2007, he made his first major league start May 18, 2007 versus the Cardinals in place of injured starter Jeremy Bonderman. He earned his first major league victory in his season debut, pitching six scoreless innings and giving up four hits while walking three and striking out two. He was optioned back to the minors after Bonderman recovered from injury, playing for Lakeland and the Erie Seawolves of the Class AA Eastern League.

The Tigers recalled Miller when Nate Robertson was sent to the disabled list (DL) with arm fatigue. Miller earned a 15–7 victory over the New York Mets behind another superb offensive backing by his teammates. Miller's best game pitched in 2007 was a six-inning performance in Atlanta, allowing four hits and no runs while also striking out two batters and walking two ending in a 5–0 Tigers victory. In 13 starts in 2007, Miller was credited with a 5–5 record and 5.63 ERA.

Florida Marlins

On December 5, 2007, the Tigers traded Miller, Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabelo, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio de la Cruz and Burke Badenhop to the Florida Marlins for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.[3] That year, Miller appeared in 29 games, starting 20, going 6–10 with a 5.87 ERA.

Miller injured his oblique muscle in 2009. On May 16, 2009, Florida activated the left-hander off the disabled list. He made 20 appearances, 14 of them starts, going 3–5 with a 4.84 ERA.

Miller at Florida Marlins spring training 2010

During spring training in 2010, the Marlins announced that they would assign Miller to their Triple-A minor league team, the New Orleans Zephyrs to open the season. The club recalled him to the major leagues on August 18. Miller finished the 2010 year 1–5 with a 8.54 ERA in nine games and seven starts.

Boston Red Sox

On November 12, 2010, the Marlins traded Miller to the Boston Red Sox for relief pitcher Dustin Richardson.[4] Boston non-tendered him less than a month later. Manager Terry Francona estimated that he "must have made 15 calls that winter trying to get him to come to the Red Sox" after they club non-tendered him because he saw that flaws in his pitching mechanics could be easily corrected.[5] Miller re-signed with Boston on December 16, 2010.[6] During 2011 spring training, Miller was optioned to minor league camp and announced that he would begin the year as a starting pitcher with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.[7]

On June 19, 2011, Boston purchased Miller's contract. The Red Sox won the first four games that Miller started, and Miller was credited as the winning pitcher in three of them. His first loss of the 2011 season came on July 15, as the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. He was pulled after 2+2⁄3 innings, having already given up seven runs on five hits, including a grand slam to Ben Zobrist.[8] He finished the 2011 year 6–3 with a 5.54 ERA in 17 games and 12 starts.

Miller pitching for the Boston Red Sox in 2012

Miller began the 2012 season in the minors, recovering from an injury. When he was called up to the majors, the Red Sox moved him to the bullpen.[9] He finished 2012 with a 3–2 record and a 3.35 ERA in 53 appearances.

On July 6, 2013, Miller suffered a foot injury and left the game. An MRI revealed that there were torn ligaments in the lisfranc zone of his foot. As a result, Miller missed the remainder of the 2013 season. He finished the 2013 season 1–2 with a 2.64 ERA in 37 games. Despite his year-ending absence, the Red Sox went on to win the 2013 World Series giving Miller a championship ring.

Miller started the 2014 season with the Red Sox by making 50 appearances going 3–5 with a 2.34 ERA.

Baltimore Orioles

Miller pitching for the Baltimore Orioles in 2014

On July 31, 2014, Boston traded Miller to the Baltimore Orioles for minor-league pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez.[10] On September 7, 2014, Miller completed a scoreless 11th in a 7−5 victory over Tampa Bay for his first career save.[11] The Orioles clinched their first American League East title in 17 years on September 16, 2014, in an 8−2 win over Toronto.[12] Miller faced two batters in that game and struck both out.[13]

In 23 appearances with Baltimore, Miller finished 2–0 with a 1.35 ERA. With both teams in 2014, Miller made 73 appearances going 5–5 with a 2.02 ERA and 103 strikeouts. During the Orioles' 2014 ALDS sweep of the Detroit Tigers, Miller earned a hold in two of the Orioles victories. He pitched a total of three and a third innings of no hit and no run baseball while striking out three Tigers batters[14] and retired 22 of 24 batters faced in seven scoreless inning in the 2014 playoffs.[5]

New York Yankees

On December 5, 2014, Miller reached an agreement on a contract with the New York Yankees lasting four years and worth $36 million.[15] Before the season started, Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced that Miller and Dellin Betances would split the closing job. Both men had one career save entering the season.[16] Miller began the season with 17+2⁄3 scoreless innings,[17] recording his first save in a Yankee uniform on April 8, 2015.[18] On April 27, he became the first Yankee to record eight saves in a 20-game span.[19]

Miller pitching for the New York Yankees in 2015

Miller finished the season with a 2.04 ERA, 36 saves, and 100 strikeouts in 61+2⁄3 innings pitched. He won the 2015 American League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award.[20]

Prior to the 2016 season, the Yankees informed Miller that he would serve as the seventh inning setup man with the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman. However, MLB suspended Chapman in spring training, and Miller resumed closer duties until his return, saving nine games. Before the midseason trade, Miller recorded 77 strikeouts in 45+1⁄3 innings while posting an ERA of 1.39 in 44 games for the Yankees.

Cleveland Indians

2016 regular season

On July 31, 2016, the Yankees traded Miller to the Cleveland Indians for Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J. P. Feyereisen.[21] Miller's first save for Cleveland was in a 5−2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium on August 6, 2016. He became the first pitcher to earn a save for and against the Yankees in the same season since 1988.[22]

Francona, now reunited with Miller as the Indians' manager, commented that he saw "a guy that is willing to pitch any inning." He deployed Miller in every inning from the fifth into extra innings,[23] "in the highest stress situations,"[24] appearing before the eighth inning in nine of 26 games. With Cleveland, Miller completed 29 innings, allowed two walks, and struck out 46, posting a 1.55 ERA. With both the Yankees and Indians in the 2016 regular season, he totaled a 10−1 record, 1.45 ERA, 0.68 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP),[25] 123 strikeouts and nine walks.[23] He became the first major leaguer in history to record 120 or more strikeouts in a season while allowing fewer than ten walks.[26]

I have been in many postseasons and hadn't seen anybody dominate like Andrew Miller. Not even the great Mariano Rivera I saw having as much success as Andrew Miller, overpowering hitters.

− Former Red Sox pitcher and Hall of Famer, Pedro Martínez, on Miller's first four 2016 playoff outings[27]

2016 postseason

The Indians swept Boston in the ALDS and Miller completed four innings in two appearances, permitting two hits, walking two and striking out seven.[27] He played in two innings each of Games 1 and 2 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Toronto Blue Jays, he striking out ten of 12 batters faced. After striking out Kevin Pillar in the seventh inning of Game 2, he matched Phil Coke in the 2012 World Series as the only pitchers to strike out five consecutive batters in the postseason. Miller also became the first pitcher in major league history to strike out at least five batters each on consecutive days.[26] Covering his first four appearances in the 2016 postseason, he struck out 17 in 7+2⁄3 innings.[27]

Miller recorded the final four outs of Game 3, striking out three in a 4−2 win, for his first career postseason save.[28] In Game 5, he completed 2+2⁄3 innings as the Indians won the ALCS. He was named ALCS Most Valuable Player (MVP), having completed 7+2⁄3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, no walks and striking out 14. His strikeout total set an ALCS record for relievers. He also was credited with three holds and one save.[29] At that point, he had completed scoreless 11+2⁄3 innings in the 2016 playoffs, and 20 total to begin his playoff career.[30]

Pitching style

Attempting to lead sequences against hitters with the fastball and myriad mechanical issues limited Miller's success as a starting pitcher early in his major league career. He also threw a changeup more frequently earlier in his career. His most effective pitch is the slider, and after he began to use that more frequently, he experimented more with varying the output. One variety, with a flat and horizontal break, more closely resembles a fastball than the others by traveling in a more direct path. Another is designed to dart toward the back foot of a right-handed batter.[31]

Nickname

After the Indians had built a 3 games to 0 lead in the 2016 ALCS against Toronto, Blue Jays right fielder José Bautista explained why the Indians were ahead:

All you have to do is go look at video and try to count the number of pitches they have thrown over the heart of the plate. It hasn't been many. They've been able to do that because of the circumstances -- that I'm not trying to talk about because I can't. That is for you guys to do, but you guys don't really want to talk about that either.[32]

Accordingly, Miller's Wikipedia page was altered to give him the nickname "The Circumstance" and title "Owner of the Blue Jays."[32]

References

  1. ^ "Royals tab Hochevar as No. 1 pick". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  2. ^ "Yankees agree to $36M deal with former Tiger Andrew Miller". Detroit Free Press. December 5, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  3. ^ Passan, Jeff (December 4, 2007). "Cabrera, Willis dealt to Tigers". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2007.
  4. ^ "Red Sox acquire lefty Miller for Richardson". Major League Baseball. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Lacques, Gabe (August 10, 2016). "Lefty Andrew Miller nears another October run". MSN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  6. ^ Abraham, Peter (December 3, 2010). "Okajima, T. Buchholz, Miller non-tendered". The Boston Globe.
  7. ^ "Why Andrew Miller will be starting in the minors". WEEI.com,. March 25, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  8. ^ "Ben Zobrist's grand slam helps Rays end Red Sox's winning streak". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  9. ^ Morais, Didier. "Padilla, Miller are Bullpen's unsung heroes". NESN.
  10. ^ Baltimore Sun (July 31, 2014). "Orioles acquire LHP Andrew Miller from Red Sox for prospect Eduardo Rodriguez". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  11. ^ Didtler, Mark (September 7, 2014). "Nelson Cruz drives in all 7 Orioles runs in 11-inning win over Rays". The Washington Times. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  12. ^ Castillo, Jorge (September 16, 2014). "Baltimore Orioles clinch first AL East title since 1997 with win over Toronto Blue Jays". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles box score". MLB.com. September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Andrew Miller". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  15. ^ Matthew, Wallace (December 5, 2014). "Andrew Miller has deal with New York Yankees". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  16. ^ Matthew, Wallace (April 3, 2015). "Yankees go from greatest closer of all time to none at all". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  17. ^ Marchand, Andrew. "Rapid Reaction: Nationals 8, Yankees 6 (10 innings)". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  18. ^ White, R. J. (April 8, 2015). "Yankees' Andrew Miller picks up first save of season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  19. ^ Knobler, Danny (April 27, 2015). "Miller gets 8 saves in 20 games". m.yankees.mlb.com. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  20. ^ Hatch, Ryan (October 28, 2015). "Yankees' closer Andrew Miller wins AL Reliever of the Year Award". NJ.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  21. ^ "Indians acquire Andrew Miller from Yankees for prospects". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 31, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  22. ^ Snyder, Matt (August 6, 2016). "Andrew Miller's first save after leaving the Yankees comes in Yankee Stadium". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Rymer, Zachary (October 12, 2016). "The Blue Jays vs. Indians ALCS goes through Andrew Miller". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  24. ^ Silverman, Steve (October 14, 2016). "Ex-Yankees Miller, Chapman ready to deliver for Indians, Cubs". CBS New York. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  25. ^ Hochman, Benjamin (October 18, 2016). "Andrew Miller — the 'event pitcher' of the postseason". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  26. ^ a b Bastian, Jordan (October 15, 2016). "Fan zone: Miller punching out Jays at historic rate". MLB.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  27. ^ a b c Axisa, Mike (October 15, 2016). "Indians' Andrew Miller has become postseason weapon unlike anything we've seen". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  28. ^ Bastian, Jordan; Chisolm, Gregor (October 18, 2016). "First blood, then epic W for Tribe!". MLB.com. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  29. ^ McGuire, Justin (October 19, 2016). "Andrew Miller named ALCS MVP as Indians advance to World Series". The Sporting News. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  30. ^ Simon, Andrew (October 19, 2016). "Bullpen anchor Miller wins ALCS MVP Award". MLB.com. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  31. ^ Laurila, David (October 18, 2016). "Andrew Miller on the evoluation of his slider". Fangraphs. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  32. ^ a b Cleveland 19 Digital Team (October 18, 2016). "Andrew Miller's Wikipedia page names him 'The Circumstance!' and owner of Blue Jays". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved October 18, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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