Jacob Matthew Miller (born November 23, 1971) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the

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 Fie ...

and Cleveland Indians. He was noted for his distinct sidearm delivery.

Independent and Minor League career

Miller began his professional baseball career playing for the

Greenville 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. The team ...

in the independent

Big South League The Big South League was an independent baseball league that operated from 1996 to 1997 in the states of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. The BSL sought to establish baseball clubs in a number of rapidly expanding urban areas without professiona ...

(–) and Texas–Louisiana League (). He signed with the Texas Rangers in December 1997, was released at the end of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 1998 and then re-signed with the Rangers in June. He played in their

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

system for the Savannah Sand Gnats (1998), Charlotte Rangers (),

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 Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

(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 The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

affiliate, Portland Beavers, in . He was signed by the

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 te ...

after the 2001 season and played for their triple-A affiliate, Sacramento River Cats, 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 Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

, but finally made his major league debut with the Rockies June 27 against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. 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 In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

, appearing in 57 games and posting a 4-1 record, 3.09 ERA, 55

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

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 Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). 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 is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

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 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 Jeremy Bryan Sowers (born May 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians from 2006 to 2009, and is currently the manager of major league ...

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

. On July 29, , Miller announced his retirement, after posting a 4-7 record with a 5.82 ERA for Triple-A

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Independent and Minor League career

Major League career

References

External links