Matt Miller (baseball RHP)
Encyclopedia
Matthew Jacob Miller is a former right-handed Major League Baseball
relief pitcher
who played for the Colorado Rockies
and Cleveland Indians
. He is noted for his distinct sidearm
delivery.
in the independent Big South League (–) and Texas-Louisiana League . He signed with the Texas Rangers
in December 1997, was released at the end of spring training
in 1998 and then re-signed with the Rangers in June. He played in their minor league
system for the Savannah Sand Gnats
(1998), Charlotte Rangers
, Tulsa Drillers
(1999–) and Oklahoma RedHawks
(2000). In November 2000, he was signed as a minor league free agent
by the San Diego Padres
and played for their triple-A Pacific Coast League
affiliate, Portland Beavers
, in . He was signed by the Oakland Athletics
after the 2001 season and played for their triple-A affiliate, Sacramento River Cats
, in .
, but finally made his major league debut with the Rockies June 27 against the Pittsburgh Pirates
. He appeared in only four games for Colorado that season and was again granted free agency in November.
The Cleveland Indians became Miller's fifth major league organization in five years when they signed him in February . He became an integral part of the Indians' bullpen
, appearing in 57 games and posting a 4-1 record, 3.09 ERA
, 55 strikeout
s, 23 walks
and one save. He continued his success in before a strained elbow tendon in his throwing arm landed him on the disabled list
in mid-July. He made two rehabilitation appearances in August, but was shut down for the season when the soreness in his elbow recurred. He appeared in 23 games for Cleveland in 2005 and was 1-0 with one save and a 1.82 ERA. He made the Indians opening day
roster in and appeared in six games in April. But when his elbow symptoms returned during a game on April 19, he was again placed on the disabled list and the following week underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in the elbow. He returned in September and was effective in eight appearances. For the season, he was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA in just 15 2/3 innings.
In , Miller began the season on the disabled list with a right forearm strain. When he returned May 9, he was optioned to Buffalo
and made 14 appearances for the Bisons before he was recalled to Cleveland June 10, when Jeremy Sowers
was sent down to Buffalo. He made only two appearances for the Indians and was returned to Buffalo to make room on the roster for Jason Stanford
who was inserted into the starting rotation
in place of the ineffective Sowers.
After the 2007 season, Miller signed with the Boston Red Sox
, but did not appear in a game for their organization before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates
. On July 29, , Miller announced his retirement, after posting a 4-7 record with a 5.82 ERA for Triple-A Indianapolis
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
who played for the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
and Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. He is noted for his distinct sidearm
Sidearm
In baseball, sidearm describes balls thrown along a low, approximately horizontal axis rather than a high, mostly vertical axis ....
delivery.
Independent and Minor League career
Miller began his professional baseball career playing for the Greenville BluesmenGreenville Bluesmen
The Greenville Bluesmen were a minor league baseball team that played in Greenville, Mississippi. The team was a member of the independent Big South League from 1996-1997 and the independent Texas-Louisiana League from 1998-2001...
in the independent Big South League (–) and Texas-Louisiana League . He signed with the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
in December 1997, was released at the end of spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
in 1998 and then re-signed with the Rangers in June. He played in their minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
system for the Savannah Sand Gnats
Savannah Sand Gnats
The Savannah Sand Gnats are a minor league baseball team in Savannah, Georgia and are a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. Since the 2007 season, the Sand Gnats have been an affiliate of the New York Mets.-History:...
(1998), Charlotte Rangers
Charlotte Rangers
The Charlotte Rangers, based in Port Charlotte, Florida, were an American minor league baseball team that existed from 1987 through 2002. The team played at Charlotte County Stadium as a Class A Florida State League affiliate of the Texas Rangers, who at the time made their spring training base in...
, Tulsa Drillers
Tulsa Drillers
The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies major-league club.-Stadium:...
(1999–) and Oklahoma RedHawks
Oklahoma RedHawks
The Oklahoma City RedHawks are a minor league baseball team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros...
(2000). In November 2000, he was signed as a minor league free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
by the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
and played for their triple-A Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
affiliate, Portland Beavers
Portland Beavers
The Tucson Padres are a minor league baseball team, representing Tucson, Arizona, in the Pacific Coast League . They are the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team was formerly known as the Portland Beavers and played its last home game at PGE Park on September 6, 2010...
, in . He was signed by the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
after the 2001 season and played for their triple-A affiliate, Sacramento River Cats
Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats is a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. The team plays in the Pacific Coast League and is the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics....
, in .
Major League career
He signed with the Colorado Rockies during the off-season and spent most of at Triple-A with the Colorado Springs Sky SoxColorado Springs Sky Sox
The Colorado Springs Sky Sox are a minor league baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team's colors are red and blue. The team plays in the Pacific Coast League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Colorado Rockies...
, but finally made his major league debut with the Rockies June 27 against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. He appeared in only four games for Colorado that season and was again granted free agency in November.
The Cleveland Indians became Miller's fifth major league organization in five years when they signed him in February . He became an integral part of the Indians' bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
, appearing in 57 games and posting a 4-1 record, 3.09 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, 55 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s, 23 walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
and one save. He continued his success in before a strained elbow tendon in his throwing arm landed him on the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
in mid-July. He made two rehabilitation appearances in August, but was shut down for the season when the soreness in his elbow recurred. He appeared in 23 games for Cleveland in 2005 and was 1-0 with one save and a 1.82 ERA. He made the Indians opening day
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
roster in and appeared in six games in April. But when his elbow symptoms returned during a game on April 19, he was again placed on the disabled list and the following week underwent surgery to repair the flexor tendon in the elbow. He returned in September and was effective in eight appearances. For the season, he was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA in just 15 2/3 innings.
In , Miller began the season on the disabled list with a right forearm strain. When he returned May 9, he was optioned to Buffalo
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
and made 14 appearances for the Bisons before he was recalled to Cleveland June 10, when Jeremy Sowers
Jeremy Sowers
Jeremy Bryan Sowers is an American professional baseball pitcher. Sowers grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where he attended Ballard High School...
was sent down to Buffalo. He made only two appearances for the Indians and was returned to Buffalo to make room on the roster for Jason Stanford
Jason Stanford
Jason John Stanford is a former left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He is a 1995 graduate of Canyon del Oro High School in Oro Valley, Arizona, a suburb of Tucson. Stanford attended Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas in 1996 and 1997, where he was an Academic...
who was inserted into the starting rotation
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
in place of the ineffective Sowers.
After the 2007 season, Miller signed with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, but did not appear in a game for their organization before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. On July 29, , Miller announced his retirement, after posting a 4-7 record with a 5.82 ERA for Triple-A Indianapolis
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
.