Former pen pals: Chapman, Miller could decide Series

Published 8:59 am Tuesday, November 1, 2016

The guy who has spent the last three months possibly redefining what it means to be a closer remains in awe of the guy who took his job this spring.

Sorry, Andrew Miller can’t help it. Aroldis Chapman’s stuff is so electric, it’s impossible to turn away.

“I love watching him pitch,” Miller said. “I don’t change the channel when he’s on TV.”

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At the moment, his view is even better. The Cleveland Indians reliever can just glance over at the Chicago Cubs bullpen during the World Series to get his fix of Chapman’s seemingly endless stream of triple-digit fastballs.

“There’s a perception that it’s easy for him because he’s such an outlier,” Miller said. “But he’s got a tremendous work ethic and in the way he goes about getting himself prepared.”

Miller would know. They were in the bullpen together for 2 1/2 months with the New York Yankees this season. New York acquired Chapman last December, and the Cuban left-hander bumped Miller to a setup role when he returned from a domestic violence suspension in May. Miller had tied for second in the AL with 36 saves the year before.

The experiment lasted until the trade deadline. Treading water in late July, the Yankees sent Chapman to the Cubs and Miller to the Indians in exchange for prospects while committing to a full rebuild.

Three months later, the two players who began the season trying to help the Yankees win a 28th World Series title find themselves playing vital roles on teams that have combined for a small fraction of that number (four). Miller and the Indians can clinch the club’s first championship since 1948 on Tuesday night in Game 6, while Chapman and the Cubs are hoping for a chance to send it to a deciding Game 7 as Chicago tries to end a 108-year drought.

On the surface, Miller and Chapman could be carbon copies of each other: hard-throwing lefties who overwhelm batters with power. The reality is a bit more complex thanks in large part to the unorthodox way Cleveland manager Terry Francona deploys Miller.

In an era of clearly defined bullpen roles, Francona uses Miller as a 6-foot-7 piece of duct tape. Sometimes, the seventh inning needs to be patched up. Sometimes the eighth. Sometimes the sixth. Sometimes, all three. And Miller, a former first-round pick who spent the first half of his career trying to make it as a starter before the Boston Red Sox gave up and converted him into a reliever in 2012, has responded by putting together one of the most dominant postseason runs ever.