James Matthew Miller (born April 28, 1982) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

Amateur career

Miller attended North Fort Myers High School in

North Fort Myers, Florida North Fort Myers is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 42,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ge ...

. He attended Mars Hill University located in North Carolina. He then transferred and attended the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Ce ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks baseball team.

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

Miller was drafted in the eighth round (230th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft by the

. During his time with the Rockies organization, he was a three-time minor league all-star.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 12, 2007, Miller was traded to the

alongside minor league pitcher Jason Burch in exchange for Rodrigo López. He was called up on September 1, 2008, to the Orioles, and made his major league debut against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

on the same day, allowing one unearned run and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Later that month, Miller pitched in the second to last game at the original Yankee Stadium, going down in history as the last pitcher to hit a batter at that stadium when he hit

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Return to the Colorado Rockies

On January 15, 2011, Miller returned to the Rockies on a minor league contract. He made his Rockies debut that year on September 7 against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

Oakland Athletics

In November 2011, Miller signed a minor league contract with the

. He made his Athletics debut on April 25, 2012, against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, and was the winning pitcher in that game.

New York Yankees

Miller was claimed off waivers by the

on November 30, 2012. After spending the year in Triple-A, his contract was selected from the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. On September 7, 2013, he gave up the first career home run to

shortstop

Xander Bogaerts Xander Jan Bogaerts (born October 1, 1992; ), nicknamed "the X-Man" and "Bogey" or "Bogie", is an Aruban professional baseball shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston ...

. He was designated for assignment on September 11. He was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton on September 16, 2013. His contract was selected from Scranton on July 1, 2014, and he was designated for assignment on July 11.

Tampa Bay Rays

On March 4, 2015, Miller signed with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

on a minor league contract.

Milwaukee Brewers

On November 19, 2015, Miller signed a minor league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

. The deal included an invite to spring training. He was released on May 24, 2016.

Minnesota Twins

Miller was with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

for spring training in 2017, but was released in March.

Pitching style

Miller is mainly a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have t ...

- slider pitcher. His four-seamer sits between 92 and 95 mph, while his slider is throw in the low-mid 80s. Less commonly, he throws a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

in the low 70s and a cut fastball.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jim 1982 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Jersey Bowie Baysox players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Grand Canyon Rafters players Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Mars Hill Lions baseball players Modesto Nuts players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Oakland Athletics players Sportspeople from Morristown, New Jersey Peoria Javelinas players Sacramento River Cats players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tri-City Dust Devils players Tulsa Drillers players Somerset Patriots players