Former Pirates pitching coach Ray Miller dies at 76

May 6—Ray Miller, who was the Baltimore Orioles' pitching coach when they lost the 1979 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates and later held the same job for the Pirates for 10 seasons, has died, his family told the Baltimore Sun. He was 76.

"One of the top pitching coaches in the history of baseball. I don't think there is any question about that," said former Pirates manager Jim Leyland, who worked side-by-side with Miller from 1987-96 while winning National League East championships in 1990, '91 and '92. "Ahead of his time. He had it all figured out."

After a 10-year minor league career as a right-handed pitcher with a losing record (60-65), Miller became the Orioles' pitching coach in 1978, his first of three stints with the team. He helped Mike Flanagan and Steve Stone win the Cy Young Award in 1979 and '80.

His reputation as a mentor for pitchers grew, and he was named manager of the Minnesota Twins mid-year 1985. The Twins were 20 games under .500 at the time, but they were 50-50 under Miller. He was relieved of his duties before the end of the 1986 season with a record of 59-80.

When the Pirates needed a pitching coach in 1987 to replace Ron Schueler, general manager Syd Thrift and Leyland turned to Miller.

"Syd talked to Ray and was, obviously, very high on him. I was very high on him," Leyland said. "And what a job he did. We couldn't have hired anybody better at the time."

Said Thrift to the Los Angeles Times in 1988: "If you want to be the best, and we do, you've got to get the best people, and Ray Miller is the best pitching coach in baseball.

"He has a thorough knowledge of pitching. ... He is an excellent teacher with great credibility.

"He has a tremendous capacity for work. I've never seen him when he wasn't thinking about pitching or baseball."

"Last year, on the last day of a 162-game season, he was ready to go to the Florida Instructional League the next day and work with our young pitchers."

Miller was the Pirates' pitching coach in 1990 when Doug Drabek won the Cy Young Award, the most recent Pirates pitcher to win the award.

Leyland said he met Miller early in their careers.

"I knew him when he was with the Baltimore Orioles. I used to see him in the Instructional League every year, talked to him," Leyland said. "We had a good relationship as opponents. Well-respected, great guy. Kind of tough exterior but soft at heart.

"He had a very simple philosophy: work fast, throw strikes, change speeds. That still works in today's game, even though they're not going about it the same way."

Leyland said Miller's philosophy was to keep the hitter off balance.

"But you have to throw strikes, get ahead in the count," Leyland said. "It sounds like a simple philosophy, but he had a good way of getting guys to do it.

"There are some pitching coaches who are really good at putting a gameplan together. There are some pitching coaches who are good at handling mechanics, if a guy has a flaw in his mechanics. Ray could do both. That's what separated him from a lot of the guys.

"It worked out pretty good for us (in Pittsburgh). We had some good years with him. He was really a mentor to Doug Drabek.

"I didn't have anything to do with (Drabek's Cy Young Award), but Ray did. I guess Drabek had more to do with it than anybody."

After leaving the Pirates, Miller returned to the Orioles as pitching coach for the 1997 season before replacing Davey Johnson as manager for the next two seasons, compiling records of 79-83 and 78-84. He served as the Orioles' pitching coach for a third time in 2004 and '05. Surgery for an aortic aneurysm ended his career.

Miller was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2010.

We are saddened by the passing of former manager Ray Miller and send our condolences to the entire Miller family. pic.twitter.com/ym2X3GJdBd

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 5, 2021

"Ray Miller was a beloved member of the Pirates organization for 10 years whose passion and dedication played an instrumental role in the team's three straight postseason appearances from 1990-92," the Pirates wrote in a statement.

"He was respected not only as a pitching coach by players in the Pirates organization but also througout the entire game of baseball.

"We are saddened to hear of his passing and offer our thoughts and prayers to his family during this difficult time."

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Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry by email at jdipaola@triblive.com or via Twitter .