Sitting Down With David Miller

TROY, N.Y.In July of this year, the Tri-City ValleyCats hosted a baseball camp for local youths. During one day of the camp, pitchers David Miller, David Duncan, and Jarred Holloway spent time with the children, teaching them drills and offering them advice. After one of the drills ended, Miller began a discussion with a handful of the youngsters in the ValleyCats dugout. The conversation ranged from serious topics about playing baseball to more lighthearted ones such as whether boys should be allowed to listen to Hannah Montana music. The campers loved David Miller. It's hard not to.

Miller has a smile and a laugh for anyone who crosses his path. Whether it be a member of the ValleyCats front office staff, a member of the stadium grounds crew, or a fan in the stands, it seems as though Miller is a friend to almost everyone. But the lanky relief pitcher says it's his teammates that he'll miss most once the season is over. "This is the goofiest team I've ever been on. We joke around, we have fun. Sometimes we'll be in the clubhouse hanging out before a game and we realize it's 6:40 and say 'Wow, we better get out to the field,'" Miller said.

Miller loves to have a good time but he knows when it's time to get serious and focus, too. Early this season, Shane Wolf, Miller, and Ashton Mowdy combined to throw a no-hitter against the Oneonta Tigers. In that game, Miller threw four innings in relief of Wolf, walking two and striking out two. The right-hander calls it his best memory of this season. "It was exciting. I've come close to no-hitters before but this was the first one I've been a part of," he said.

Still, Miller has been playing baseball nearly every day since March so once the season ends, he is looking forward to resting and spending time with his family and friends back home in Texas. Of course, Troy, NY and Ft. Worth, TX aren't exactly next door to one another so Miller will have to make the 25-hour trek back to the Lone Star State before he can spend any time relaxing. "I'm not looking forward to the drive, that's for sure," he said. "I'm just going to load up on snacks and go for it."

The well-traveled Miller is used to moving from place to place to follow his baseball playing dreams. After graduating from high school, where he recorded a 1.60 ERA as a senior, Miller played for a year at Texas Wesleyan University before going on to Hill Junior College. During the summer of 2005, the right-hander played for the AIA Fire of the Alaskan Baseball League. Then, after spending the 2006 and 2007 seasons playing for Stephen F. Austin University, Miller was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 32nd round of the 2007 Amateur Draft and began his professional baseball career in Tri-City shortly thereafter.

Spending his second season as a ValleyCat this summer, Miller doesn't have many objections to life as a baseball player. As crisp fall air has begun to move into the northeast within the past couple weeks, Miller's only wish is the Troy could be a little warmer. "My ideal weather is between 85 and 100 degrees. I hate the cold," the Texan said.

He won't have to put up with it for much longer as the ValleyCats season ends this weekend. When the last out of the 'Cats season is recorded, Miller will pack up his things and head home. Back in Troy, Miller's fastballs and changeups will be surely be missed. In the end, though, it will be Miller's constant enthusiasm and love of life that will be missed most of all.