Oakland A's Closer Says He'll Never Get Special Entrance Because The Team Is Too Cheap
If you're not familiar with Oakland A's closer Mason Miller, you should be.
Miller's been one of the most electric pitchers in the sport through the first month and a half of the season, with the Pitching Ninja X account at times turning into a Mason Miller fan club. He dots 101-103mph fastballs all over the zone, mixing in devastating breaking pitches.
His results have matched the stuff through early May; Miller's stats look like something out of a video game. Through 16.1 innings, he has a 1.10 ERA with an unheard of -0.14 FIP. Essentially, that means when evaluating his strikeouts, walks and home runs allowed, the things pitchers have the most control over, he'd have been expected to allow zero runs this season. And even that undersells just how dominant Miller's been.
He's striking out over 18 batters per nine innings. 55 percent of the hitters he's faced this year have struck out. Batters are hitting just .125 this year, with Miller allowing just six hits to 60 batters faced. His Baseball Savant page is remarkable; 100th percentile in xERA, xBA, fastball velocity, whiff% and K%, 99th in hard hit% and 98th in chase%.
You'd think with someone this good, he'd be getting the star-level treatment at his home stadium. But unfortunately for Miller, he plays for the Oakland Athletics.
Oakland - Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller hugs catcher Kyle McCann after a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on May 1. PHoto: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland A's Too Cheap To Showcase Mason Miller
Miller plays his home games at the Oakland Coliseum, where dozens of fans pack one or two rows to watch the lame duck A's play out their remaining time in the Bay Area. And so while other dominant closers are given celebrity style entrances, such as Edwin Diaz with his trumpets in New York, Miller unceremoniously trots to the mound in silence.
In a recent interview on Foul Territory, they asked him about whether the team would add some kind of show or light display when he enters the game.
"We talked about the lights. I don’t think that’s gonna happen," Miller said jokingly. "They said the lights might not come back on."
They flirted with turning off the scoreboard lights until he picked up the ball, but that didn't work.
"That was just a little bit more like an awkward kind of silence until I got to the mound," Miller explained.
How depressing is that?
If Miller was turning in these types of performances for the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs or Red Sox, he'd be the talk of baseball. Instead, he's putting up all-time numbers in obscurity, with an average home crowd smaller than some minor league teams. Literally.
Major League Baseball and A's ownership deserve blame for letting the situation in Oakland get this bad. And for a sport desperate for exciting new players and performances, it's inexcusable that a pitcher this electric isn't getting the attention he deserves. Although who knows, given the A's cheapness and lack of competitive interest, maybe he'll be traded to a real organization later this year.