Star Tribune

Player of the Year

2007

On mound and at bat, Miller is Mr. Steady

The Eden Prairie senior has an equal knack for shutting down opponents as a pitcher while scattering the field with hits as a batter.

By Ron Haggstrom, Star Tribune

Last update: June 11, 2007 – 11:44 PM

Ace of the pitching staff. Leadoff hitter in the batting order.

The importance of Danny Miller to Eden Prairie's success on the baseball diamond cannot be overstated. The Eagles (21-7) will be making their fourth state tournament appearance since 1998 because of Miller's ability to get the job done on the mound and in the batter's box.

"Danny did it all for us this year," Eagles coach Mike Halloran said. "There is no other guy I would want to hand the ball to with the season on the line, and he is a very aggressive hitter who always puts the ball in play."

The Star Tribune's Metro Player of the Year in baseball -- the fourth Eagle to be named player of the year for a sport during the 2006-07 school year -- put it all on display in the Class 3A, Section 6 championship game against Burnsville, a 3-2 Eagles' victory in eight innings.

He pitched a seven-hitter while striking out eight and also went 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.

"Danny pitched against all of the tough teams in the conference and shut them down," Halloran said. "He can attack hitters from a variety of ways, and is a very smart pitcher."

Miller has a sharp breaking curveball to go along with a sneaky fastball he throws in the mid-80s. He also will occasionally mix in a changeup and slider.

"He has good command of all of his pitches," Burnsville coach Mick Scholl said. "He hits the corners -- always on the black. We have some very good hitters, and he had almost all of them tied up in knots."

The 6-1, 175-pound southpaw with pinpoint control is 9-1 with a 1.17 earned-run average. He gave up only eight earned runs in 592/3 innings while striking out 70. Opponents batted only .166 against him.

"I try to repeat the same delivery motion every time," Miller said. "Having the same motion every time helps me throw strikes."

His consistency carries over to the plate. Miller is an outstanding contact hitter who takes the ball wherever it is pitched.

"I don't try to do anything more than make good solid contact," Miller said. "Hopefully, it finds an open spot in the field."

The ball did against Burnsville. He singled to right, up the middle and down the third-base line and flew out to left-center field. His second hit drove in the first run; his final single moved the winning run into scoring position.

"He's a tough out," Scholl said. "Everybody has a different opinion on how to try to get him out. We tried inside, outside and off-speed, and he took advantage of any mistake we made."

Miller is batting .494 with 17 RBI, 21 runs scored and 11 steals. The Eagles will play Hastings (20-8) at 10 a.m. Thursday at Midway Stadium in the 3A state quarterfinals.

"Danny probably hits the ball better to all fields than any other hitter I have ever coached," Halloran said. "He can turn on an inside pitch and also drive the outside one to left field. It's been a lot of fun to watch him develop since his sophomore year."

Ron Haggstrom • rchaggstrom@startribune.com