(Busch Stadium) Having pitched two days before the Arizona Diamondbacks rolled into Busch Stadium, Shelby Miller won’t get the opportunity this series to start against his former teammates, which only adds to the distance from his time as a Cardinal.
“Seriously, it feels like I played in St. Louis–it feel like 10 years ago,” said Miller. “It feels like it’s been forever just from all the moving and stuff. Traveling and different things I’ve seen…obviously, I had a lot of memories here. Made some of the greatest friends that I’ll stay friends with forever. Coming back’s always enjoyable–I love seeing the city, seeing everybody and just being back is fun. But it seems like so long ago that I was playing here.”
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Drafted out of high school by St. Louis with their top pick (19th overall) in the 2009 draft, Miller was traded from the Cardinals to Atlanta prior to the 2015 season as part of the Jason Heyward deal. Then this past off-season, the Braves dealt him to Arizona to acquire the Darby Swanson, the top overall pick of the 2015 draft.
“I’m enjoying it,” said Miller. “I think we have a great team over here in Arizona. It’s full of talent, a lot of composure and happiness in the locker room. A lot of the guys know, certainly myself hasn’t pitched to the best of my abilities and some other guys are getting back to where they need to be. We haven’t played the best baseball we know we can play, but like I said we’re having fun and doing it day by day and just going as it is.”
But with that kind of move a lot of expectations were placed on Miller, who is currently 1-5 for the Diamondbacks.
“For me, it’s about showing up–you don’t get to really choose what team you’re a part of,” pointed out Miller. “You don’t really choose who you’re traded for or what your value is. The only thing you can do is go out and compete, have fun, and try to do the best you can. Outside of that, the most expectations I have is for myself.”
“I’m the biggest believer in myself, so it’s all about going out and competing. I know what I’m capable of doing out on the mound, obviously haven’t come close to that this year but it’s a process. It’s part of baseball, not everything’s going to go your way, not everything’s going to be so smooth your whole career. So it’s more so bringing positive energy, trying to help my teammates win, and enjoying getting to play baseball for a living.”
After some abbreviated starts this season, Miller is encouraged by his last three outings–which have seen him pitch into the 6th inning.
“I feel like I’m a lot closer,” said Miller, who is focused on building that consistency. “I feel like these last three games, even some of the games at the beginning of the season, I pitched better than what is shown. My ultimate goal is to show up everyday ready to go with a smile on my face and help this team win however I can.”
As for getting to face his former teammates in the future, Miller laughed when asked who’s the one position player he’d like to face.
“Probably Kolten, yeah–he’s definitely one of my best friends and he talks a lot of smack in a fun way,” answered Shelby. “He’s just a fun person. Matt Adams is one of my buddies. There’s so many guys over there that I’d joke around with but, like I said last time I pitched here it was all business. When the game starts, it’s all about trying to win that game. Then outside of that and the field, it’s all about fun and those good times we used to have together.”
photo credit: Joe Camporeale, Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
