There was angst in Brownwood last Monday, at least whatever passes for nervous tension in a town of 20,000 or so lost smack in the middle of Texas.
Between shifts at the firehouse, Mitch Miller was pacing the floor, awaiting baseball’s decision on his boy Shelby. There was every reason to believe he’d be named to his first All-Star game. Not like the Braves had a wealth of candidates. And their newly acquired starter had been covering up scoreboards in zeroes.
Oh, but if anyone pays attention to that win-loss record, so symmetrically ordinary despite just how well Shelby had pitched in the first half — now 5-5 — it could get a little sketchy.
“I kept calling his agent asking, ‘Do we really have to wait all day to figure this out?’” Mitch said.
Remember all those times watching the All-Star activities together, at least the Home Run Derby, which always seemed to captivate Shelby when he was a boy? Could his son actually be inside that festival now, looking out?
Think back about all those years coaching up his son. Mitch might not have been the last source on pitching mechanics, but he could always guarantee his son would take none of his talent for granted. Even when it was football season in central Texas — a time of holy obligation, which Shelby served as a receiver and punter — his father would inject some pitching exercises. Football was an invitation to the emergency room, dad knew. Baseball was the future, even if that meant only a partial college scholarship. Now there was this big payoff at hand, this invitation to join the game’s elite just dangling out there.
Finally Shelby texted his father and just two words were all that were needed to take the top off the anxiety: “Made It.”
Shelby Miller has been a rookie of the year hopeful in St. Louis (2013). He has pitched 13-plus postseason innings for the Cardinals over three seasons. He has flashed special-quality stuff, losing a no-hitter against the Marlins with two out in the ninth earlier this season and retiring 27 consecutive after yielding a lead-off hit to Colorado in 2013.
And yet, until this All-Star recognition, one of his biggest nationwide splashes came when the New York Times did a lengthy story on his 2013 marriage to Amy Peters as part of a regular “Weddings” series.
By the way, it was a lovely ceremony that, the Times reported, “took place outdoors, overlooking Jacks Fork River (Mo.), and was officiated by the Rev. Darrin Patrick, the St. Louis Cardinals’ chaplain. The Cardinals’ manager, Mike Matheny, recited a prayer before the buffet dinner.”
Blossoming in a more strictly baseball way as a Brave, still just 24, Miller seems to be positioning himself as a centerpiece to a drastically overhauled staff.
The effects of his baseball coming-of-age story are far reaching.
For the Braves, naturally, his fast start has been most heartening.
They traded away a popular hometown outfielder, Jayson Heyward, to St. Louis to gain a young pitcher still flush with contract flexibility (eligible for arbitration next year, not eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season). Losing Heyward was difficult, but short term, look who’s in this All-Star game, and who isn’t.
When with the Texas Rangers, GM John Hart was intrigued by a hard-throwing, tough-minded high schooler in Brownwood, but instead drafted another Texas high school pitcher in the first round five spots ahead of where the Cards took Miller. That other pitcher chose the college route and has yet to see the majors. Sometimes baseball gives you a Mulligan, and Hart took it in last November’s trade.
“We looked at Shelby and thought, if we can get this kid and another young piece that would be good,” Hart said. That other piece, Tyrell Jenkins, just went seven shutout innings in his Triple-A debut in Gwinnett on Thursday.
“When (St. Louis) said yes, we were excited. I was more excited after that deal than any of the deals we made,” Hart said.
As for Miller and his family, these first months with the Braves have been a revelation. There were mixed emotions among the Miller clan about the trade, since they had developed strong ties with many in the Cardinals organization. St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright was a good friend and mentor to Miller.
At the same time, coming to a make-over project like the Braves gave Miller the chance to wade out of the deep end of the Cardinals rotation — they own baseball’s best record even with Wainwright injured — and express himself as a front-line starter.
Still a new guy, Miller is careful about not stepping on any bare feet in the Braves clubhouse. But there is something about his serious presence in that room that suggests the mindset of a leader. For instance, his weekly regimen is so strict that he refers to the day after each start as his real “busy day,” as opposed to when he actually takes the mound.
“I’ll be more than happy to take on that role, I just don’t want to disrespect guys here who have been in the league eight or 10 years,” Miller said. Veterans are in short supply with a rebuilding team.
“I love the fact that he has taken ownership at such a young age,” Hart said. “He’s a true professional, the way he approaches his job. His stuff speaks for itself. He’s still developing, he’s still getting better. He’s not a finished project yet, but he’s everything I had hoped he would be, and then some.”
Now if he and the Braves could rehab that win-loss record. Friday’s game, a less than All-Star quality outing against Colorado, represented his 10th consecutive winless start.
Thanks to a dearth of run support, Miller’s 2.38 ERA — sixth best in the National League — has not done much for his winning percentage. Yeah, that frustrates dad just a little bit.
But, he keeps reminding his son, and himself, of a couple of things in frequent text messages:
You did your job. Just keep putting up the zeroes, and the wins will come.
Miller himself is not one to just dismiss a number because it doesn’t suit him. “Wins, innings pitched, WHIP — they all matter, they all key into the kind of season you’re having,” Miller said. “But one thing Waino (Wainwright) taught me was to not let the wins and losses affect anything else you’re getting done.”
If there is a balance in the baseball universe then somehow amid the All-Star shuffling, Miller would come out with the win Tuesday.
