A few years ago, I went to a friend’s place to watch a playoff game. A pitcher came out of the bullpen and was ready to take the mound. “Oh, it’s Andrew Miller,” my friend said. I couldn’t remember Andrew Miller’s performance in that game, however, many fans might still remember his outings in the 2016 ALCS.
In the 2016 ALCS, Andrew Miller made 4 relief appearances. He struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run in 7.2 innings. His WHIP was only 0.39 in that series. The dominant performance was truly impressive and he was named the 2016 ALCS MVP. In his career, Miller made 29 relief appearances in the postseason, posting a 0.93 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP in 38.2 innings.
In addition, looking back at Miller’s career, there’s something we can’t ignore. In particular, his slider is one of the most devastating pitches in the MLB.
Andrew Miller made it into the big league in 2006 and earlier in his career, he’s primarily a starting pitcher. He made 66 starts from 2007 to 2011 and back then, he used his four-seam fastball more than 50% of the time each season. However, Miller was moved to the bullpen in 2012 and he gradually increased his slider usage. His slider usage increased to 39.4% in 2012 and the number went up to 43.3% in the next season. In 2015, Miller’s slider usage rose to 54.3% and the number never went below 50% again later in his career.
So, how good is Andrew Miller’s slider?
After being moved to the bullpen, opponents rarely hit over .200 against Miller’s slider. In particular, there were 4 seasons in which the batting average against Miller’s slider was below .100.
Now, let’s look back at these 4 seasons.
In 2012, opponents hit .098 against Miller’s slider and batting average against Randy Choate’s slider was only .047, lowest among pitchers who threw 200+ sliders in that season.
In 2014, Andrew Miller used his slider 42.2% of the time and opponents only batted .081. Among pitchers who threw more than 400 sliders in 2014, Andrew Miller is the only pitcher to let opponents hit below .100.
The next season, Miller used his slider 54.3% of the time. Opponents can’t hit well, either. Meanwhile, Dallas Keuchel won the 2015 AL Cy Young award and back in 2015, opponents only hit .117 against his slider.
Finally, Miller’s slider usage was 57.8% in 2017 and his slider was dominant as well. During the regular season, opponents only hit .094 against his slider. At the same time, Max Scherzer was the 2017 NL Cy Young award winner and batters were batting only .129 against Scherzer’s slider.
Andrew Miller’s slider was his primary weapon after being moved to the bullpen and it’s extremely hard for MLB batters to collect a hit against his slider. As we can see, in some seasons, we might be able to say that his slider was the best slider in the league. After playing 16 years in the majors, Andrew Miller announced his retirement in late March. His career is surely memorable and of course, his slider is unforgettable.
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