July 20, 2007 - Second impressions / By: TIM O'SULLIVAN / Concord Monitor
When Ryan Miller arrived at Rider University last fall as a freshman, his coaches immediately talked to him about placing him in a league for the following summer. Miller had no idea what they were talking about. He figured he would be playing Legion baseball back in tiny Montoursville, Pa., after his freshman season at Rider.
And after he threw his first bullpen session as a Concord Quarry Dog in early June, Miller was thinking maybe he should have stayed in Montoursville.
"I hadn't thrown in a few weeks, I wasn't comfortable on the mound and I was trying to impress the guys," Miller said. "It was terrible."
"I thought he was our 12th guy out of 12, hands down," said Concord Manager Tim Rice, who caught the bullpen session. "I'm looking at him and thinking, 'This kid isn't going to make it.' "
But Miller turned things around quickly. Without the benefit of another practice session, he pitched a perfect 1-2-3 fifth inning in Concord's season opener, an 8-1 loss to Keene that Rice wound up using as an extended tryout. Since then Miller's been a critical cog in
the Q-Dogs' pen, which is arguably the team's strength and one of the league's best.
Through six appearances, Miller had a 1.04 ERA and a .143 batting average against. The numbers have been skewed recently because of two poor outings, as often happens to relief pitchers. His ERA is 4.34, but he's second on the team with 14 appearances and has earned himself a spot start, although, after yesterday's rainout, that scheduled start has now been rained out twice.
"I wasn't worried about him," said Jim Carone, Rider's pitching coach and the Q-Dog pitching coach in 2006 who recommended Miller to Concord General Manager Pete Dupuis.
After Miller's awful opening pen, Rice called Carone.
"I said to Carone, 'What are you doing to me? What are you sending me this kid for? How is he even playing for you?' " Rice said.
"I knew he'd be fine because Ryan is a gamer," Carone said. "When the chips are on the line he's going to give you his best."
Which is why Carone sent Miller to the NECBL in the first place.
"He had some intangible things you don't usually see in freshman. He was confident and all-business on the mound, I liked the way the ball came out of his hand, and he just seemed experienced," Carone said. "It's great for Rider to be represented in the NECBL and I thought Ryan was the perfect guy to do it."
Miller may have picked up some of that maturity from one of his workout partners back in Montoursville, some guy named Mike Mussina.
Miller first met Mussina - a Montoursville resident and five-time Major League All-Star pitcher - when he was 12 and won the Mike Mussina Award in Little League.
"I just remember pounding on my dad's knee and saying, 'Is that him? Is that him?' " Miller said. "And then he signed a ball for me."
One of Miller's high school teammates, Chad Jacobson, is like a godson to Mussina. During his junior year of high school, Miller tagged along with Jacobson to Mussina's house and worked out in the star's gym, and has been going back as often as possible ever since.
Miller's first start as a senior at Montoursville High went poorly, but before the next start Mussina gave one of his gloves to Miller.
"I know it's superstitious, but after he gave me the glove I won 12 straight games," Miller said. "It's just that I've always looked up to him. I mean, I used to hate the Yankees, I really did, but now I want him to win so badly I root for the Yankees."
The comparisons between Miller and Mussina have been numerous. It was bound to happen when two elite pitchers surface from a town of under 5,000 residents. Miller realizes it's a lot to live up to, but he doesn't let the pressure bother him. Instead, he embraces the opportunity to walk in such significant footsteps.
"Since that day I met him I always hoped some day I would have kids look up to me like I did to him," Miller said. "Obviously Mussina is still the big guy from Montoursville, but I've made some appearances at small camps for little kids and they're pretty excited to see me. So the comparisons have been nothing but good for me."
Not only did Miller follow Mussina's path on the Montoursville baseball diamonds, but on the town's football fields as well. Both were wide receivers and kickers in high school.
Miller was an all-state place-kicker and punter as a junior and senior, and kicked a 52-yard field goal for Montoursville. After working out with a kicking expert in Nevada, he was recruited by several colleges out West as a place-kicker. He considered kicking and pitching in college, but in the end decided "it would be too hectic, and I figured I had a better chance of getting drafted to play baseball than making it to the NFL."
Still, a bit of that kicker remains with him. Miller has a Louis Tiant-style windup. The righty drastically twists and turns his back on the batter during his delivery. He catches sight of the third baseman before uncoiling and picking up the catcher at the last minute.
It was the delivery he developed as a junior in high school to add deception, but it's also reminiscent of the body torque a place-kicker uses.
"It is the same natural motion I use when I kick," Miller said. "I think that's why I'm comfortable with it."
Coaches have tried to change the motion, and Miller has let them, but in the end everyone has agreed that the Tiant windup works best. As the coaches in Concord learned, even if Miller's first impression isn't perfect, he's worth a second look.
(Tim O-Sullivan can be reached at tosullivan@cmonitor.com.)
