Andrew Miller On Rumor Of Being Traded To Tigers: Reunion With Detroit Would Have Been Fun
By: Jeff Riger
@riger1984
It used to be tradition for Tiger fans.
Before the days of A.L. Central titles and World Series appearances, it was tough being a Tigers fan. There were the 100 loss seasons, the one year where they set the record for most losses in the American league and lets not forget about the hundreds of forgettable players that roamed the field at Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park. Back then, it was all about Opening Day and then waiting and waiting and waiting for some of the prospects that fans heard so much about to succeed or fail.
There was Jeremy Bonderman, Matt Anderson, Juan Encarnacion and Nate Cornejo, all guys that Tiger fans heard about and then probably were excited about when they finally made it up to the big club. Of course, the list doesn't stop there, there was Matt Drews, Mike Drumright, Andy Van Hekken and Justin Thompson. So many prospects and so much disappointment, but unfortunately, that's all fans had.
Then things changed, the Tigers got good and fans actually cared more about the team on the field then the prospects.
But old habits die hard.
Back in 2006, the Tigers not only shocked the baseball world by making it to the World Series but they also introduced one of these can't miss prospects to the major league level. His name was Andrew Miller and he was different. Miller played college baseball at North Carolina and was drafted by the Tigers in the same season that he ended up playing for them. He signed August 8th, 2006 and made his Detroit debut on August 30th, 2006, he even closed out the game against the Royals that allowed the Tigers to clinch their first playoff birth since 1987.
Fans were excited about Miller but then the Winter Meetings of 2008 happened.
Take a listen to the interview to find out how Miller felt when he was traded from the Tigers and how he became such a great closer after starting his career as a starter.
