With a runner on first, one out, and 50,000 screaming fans on their feet at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen door opened and out jogged a 6 foot 7 inch left-hander by the name of Andrew Miller. His task was to retire Josh Donaldson, last season’s AL MVP. Miller wound up and fired a fastball toward the inside corner. Donaldson made contact, sending Miller’s pitch to a waiting Francisco Lindor who tossed it to Jason Kipnis. Kipnis stepped on second and slung it to Carlos Santana at first to complete the double play. With one pitch Miller diffused a potentially game changing situation. This, however, is just a snippet of the success Miller has enjoyed this postseason.
Miller is a hitter’s worst nightmare. A tall, lanky southpaw with a fastball hitting the mid-90s paired with a devastating slider. Miller has torn apart deep lineups throughout the playoffs. In the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, one of the most imposing offense teams in the American League, Miller pitched four shutout innings out of the pen while allowing just two hits and striking out seven. This is no small feat, let alone against an offense as potent as Boston’s. The Indians swept the Sox and moved on to the ALCS, where they faced the Toronto Blue Jays, another team with powerful hitters. Miller did not his daunting opposition faze him; in fact, his numbers were even better than the Boston series. He faced twenty-five total batters and retired twenty-three of them, striking out 14 all without allowing a single to cross the plate. These numbers are incredible. Whenever opposing fans and players see Miller begin his run to the mound, a sense of “game over” comes over most. He has been the most dynamic postseason reliever Major League Baseball has seen since Mariano Rivera. A key difference between Miller and Rivera, however, is that is not limited to the closer spot. He is capable of coming into games as early as the fifth inning and shutting down opposing offenses for several innings at a time. There is truly no other reliever in baseball as versatile or dominant as Andrew Miller.
While Miller has been a catalyst for The Tribe’s October success, he has certainly not been the only factor. Stellar outings from the starting pitching as well as clutch hitting from Francisco Lindor and Coco Crisp has put the Indians a cut above the rest so far this postseason. In a season plagued with injuries, the Indians have been written off, but this skepticism has just made them all the more dangerous.
As the Indians advance to the World Series for the first time since 1997, Miller will look to continue his assertive postseason. The Tribe will take on the winner Cubs in game 1 of the World Series Tuesday night at Progressive Field.