Andrew Miller made his first major-league start for the Tigers against the Cardinals, impressed Jim Leyland and Tony La Russa and helped his club achieve a measure of redemption against the defending World Series champions.
On May 18, 2007, three days before he turned 22, Miller pitched six scoreless innings and got his first big-league win against the Cardinals at Detroit.
The 6-foot-7 left-hander pitched with poise and skill and appeared to be headed toward a long, distinguished career as a starter.
Eleven years later, Miller, a free agent, joined the Cardinals with the expectation he would be their top left-handed reliever. He hadn’t made a start in seven years.
Escape artist
Miller was a standout pitcher at the University of North Carolina, establishing the school’s career strikeout record, and was selected by the Tigers in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft.
After making his major-league debut with the Tigers in 2006 and appearing in eight games, all in relief, Miller was at Class AA Erie in May 2007 when he got called up to Detroit to fill in for injured starter Jeremy Bonderman.
Miller’s first big-league start was the Tigers’ first game versus the Cardinals since losing four of five against them in the 2006 World Series.
Pitching before a sellout crowd of 40,816 at Comerca Park, Miller worked in and out of trouble in the first three innings.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the first on singles by Albert Pujols and Juan Encarnacion and a walk to Scott Rolen, but with two outs Ryan Ludwick popped out to second baseman Placido Polanco.
In the second, the Cardinals had Yadier Molina on third with one out, but stranded him when David Eckstein grounded out to short and So Taguchi flied out to right.
The Cardinals put runners on first and second with one out in the third before Miller retired Rolen and Ludwick.
After that, Miller yielded no hits and walked two over his last three innings.
The Tigers scored seven runs against Cardinals starter Braden Looper and another seven against Kelvin Jimenez and won, 14-4. Miller’s line: 6 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 1 batter hit by pitch. The Cardinals were 0-for-5 against him with runners in scoring position. Boxscore
Rave reviews
Under the headline, “Dandy, Andy,” the Detroit Free Press declared Miller “arrived amid some fanfare and delivered on cue, showing he might have as much to do with the team’s current fortunes as its future.”
Other comments about Miller after the game:
_ Tigers manager Jim Leyland: “This is real talent. He should have a very, very bright future.”
_ Cardinals manager Tony La Russa: “I was impressed with how often he was around the plate and how when he had the potential to throw a ball through the screen, he stayed within himself and didn’t try to strike out the side. Very impressive.”
_ Tigers pitching coach Chuck Hernandez: “I learned he’s got a little feel for pitching to go along with a good fastball.”
_ Free Press columnist John Lowe: “He confirmed anew that he will one day be a dominant big-league pitcher.”
Said Miller: “I know that I can do this.”
Bullpen specialist
Miller went on to have more bad outings than good ones as a starter in the major leagues. He finished 5-5 with a 5.62 ERA for the 2007 Tigers and was part of a package of prospects traded to the Marlins after the season for slugger Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis.
In three seasons with the Marlins, Miller was 10-20 with a 5.89 ERA. They traded him to the Red Sox and he was 6-3 with a 5.54 ERA in 2011 before being converted into a reliever.
Miller was consistently effective in relief roles for the Red Sox (2012-14), Orioles (2014), Yankees (2015-16) and Indians (2016-18). He earned 36 saves for the 2015 Yankees and was 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA for the 2016 pennant-winning Indians.
Miller was an American League all-star with the Indians in 2016 and 2017 and was named most valuable player of the 2016 AL Championship Series when he struck out 14 Blue Jays in 7.2 scoreless innings.
Through 2018, Miller had a 49-48 record, 3.98 ERA and 53 saves in 13 big-league seasons. He was 20-27 with a 5.70 ERA as a starter and 29-21 with a 2.56 ERA as a reliever.
On Dec. 21, 2018, Miller, 33, agreed to terms with the Cardinals on a two-year, $25 million contract with an option for 2021.
“Andrew Miller is one of the premier relievers in the major leagues,” said Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.
Let’s hope that the acquisition of Andrew Miller turns out to be a good one. On the free agent market we’ve been snake bitten over the past couple of seasons. I will always however, start off the new year with optimisim. Just think, Miller has what it takes to turn our bullpen around and Fowler wins the comeback player of the year award. Go Cardinals!!
Thanks for commenting. The Andrew Miller signing seems more promising than the Brett Cecil one did.
I like this signing. Just hope he can stay healthy.
It will be intriguing to see how Mike Schildt and Mike Maddux utilize Andrew Miller, Jordan Hicks and Dakota Hudson in the bullpen.