Houston Astros pitching coach Josh Miller to be honored in hometown of Melbourne Beach

Ten seasons of long, "Bull Durham"-type bus rides became a pain in the rear for former minor league pitcher Josh Miller.

But none of those trips, from Batavia, Bridgeport, or even two cities in Venezuela and another in China, could compare to the journey he has made as a pitching coach in Major League Baseball.

His latest tour was in early November, high atop a sight-seeing bus with his family, as the city of Houston celebrated the Astros' 2022 World Series championship with a raucous, ticker-tape parade.

"The Astros parade was amazing," Miller said. "Two million people out there, throwing beads and waving. …

"We had a couple players on the bus, so I'm sure they were cheering for them, but I'd like to think they were cheering for (me)," he said, laughing.

Miller might be underestimating his sudden popularity.

During the World Series, television cameras zoomed in on the Astros' first-year pitching coach, who was partly responsible for setting up a historic four-player no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 to tie the series 2-2. He also helped guide the bullpen to the lowest ERA (0.83) in postseason history.

Wednesday evening, an event in Miller's hometown of Melbourne Beach will honor the kid who grew up playing in the South Beaches Little League, and at Melbourne High School and Brevard Community College. It will take place at St. Sebastian’s By-The-Sea Episcopal Church, where he attended Sunday School, and where his mom, Nancy, still is very much involved with the congregation.

"It's going to be fun," said Miller, who insists he isn't totally responsible for a pitching staff that limited the usually potent Phillies lineup to a .163 composite batting average, the lowest ever for a team in a World Series of at least six games.

"Not me! I'm just there to help provide some guard rails, and encourage and give the guys confidence," said Miller, who often works on advance planning with Manager Dusty Baker who, at 73, became the oldest skipper to win a World Series — his first in 25 seasons.

"They all pitched phenomenal and executed so well," said Miller, who, coincidentally, had been drafted by the Phillies organization in the 32nd round in 2001 out of North Carolina State.

He went on to post a 67-55 record with 22 saves and a 4.01 ERA in his 294-game minor league pitching career that included teams such as the Batavia Muckdogs, New Jersey Jackals, Bridgeport Bluefish and the Round Rock Express, once the Astros' Triple-A affiliate.

Altogether, playing for 11 teams, Miller's 90 mph two-seam fastball covered more than 1,200 innings before he retired after the 2010 season and embarking on his first role as a pitching coach for the Greeneville (Tenn.) Astros rookie league team, which won the 2015 Appalachian League.

He then became a scout for the Astros the next two years.

"It (was) a chance to stay in the game, a chance to stay in the baseball life, which I don’t know anything else, really," he once told reporters.

Historic game wasn't planned

The four-player no-hitter, the only other no-no in World Series history besides Don Larsen's gem in 1956, wasn't planned, Miller said, although a similar feat happened in June (using three pitchers) against the New York Yankees, and with the same starting pitcher, Cristian Javier.

"It's always tough to hit against Cristian," Miller said. "He's a young righty from the Dominican Republic who we signed and developed from the minors. He's been phenomenal."

Regarding the multiple-player no-hitters, "We went in with a loose plan with a workload in terms of innings," Miller said. "(Javier) used up all his bullets through seven (innings) in the first one (striking out 13 Yankees), and then six (in the World Series)."

Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly, who did not allow an earned run in the entire series, closed out the final three innings of Game 4 to knot the series and shift the momentum back to Houston, which won the next two games.

During the regular season, Astros pitchers had led the major leagues with a 2.78 ERA, and that success had a lot to do with Miller, who had been the bullpen coach since 2018 before being promoted when Brent Strom retired after the Astros lost to the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 World Series.

Now, Miller, who turns 44 in a couple of weeks, is enjoying the view from a seat in the dugout.

"The home bullpen view in Minute Maid Park is hard to watch a game," he said, laughing. "Now, I have a much different perspective. The game is really fast and the game now has a different level class of athlete, so I get a unique glimpse of that."

He said Baker "likes to listen to my thought process" on how to pitch hitters or whom to bring in. "We don't always agree but, ultimately, it's worked out," he said.

Challenges in the bullpen

Coaching in the bullpen the past few years, Miller often was spotted with a towel draped around his neck holding a clipboard of notes on opposing batters.

"A towel and a cup of water is all you need, that's important … and telling them of any guys they might be facing who are coming to bat," he said.

The World Series ring he'll soon receive will actually be his second. As a former scout and minor league complex pitching coordinator during the controversial 2017 Astros championship, he was among the employees who also were awarded diamond rings.

The following season, he became the Astros' bullpen coach, listening to the furious rant of fans, especially when his pitchers began throwing.

"It was pretty bad the last couple of years," Miller said. "You just take it with a smile."

This past season, the Astros also introduced Bill Murphy as a co-pitching coach in the bullpen. Miller said the former Greeneville pitching coach, who had his proverbial "cup of coffee" in the majors, has been a valuable asset. He even attended Murphy's wedding in New Jersey, where "it was freezing" during the offseason.

Miller and his wife, Danielle, and their young son and daughter spent most of the time away from the ballpark at their home in DeBary, a suburb of Orlando, and often visited his mom in Melbourne Beach.

Now, he's getting ready for spring training in West Palm Beach, where pitchers and catchers report Feb. 15.

Overcoming rule changes

Another change this season to Major League Baseball rules, this one banning the shift from beyond second base, will keep Miller glued to scouting reports.

"That will negatively impact pitching staffs across the league, not just us," he said. "There was a reason that was the optimal way to defend (against a hitter who always hits to one side). Now, you'll see more ground balls get through the right side, which means more guys get on base, which means more runs."

A couple of years ago, rules were changed to force relief pitchers to throw to at least three hitters unless the inning ended, a move dictated to speed up the game.

"That certainly changed the strategy," Miller said, noting that it changed how certain matchups could be ensured. "It made using bullpen guys a little tricky. Say, you'd have a righty sidearm guy going against a righty (hitter), but with no outs or one out, now he's gotta face the next two guys, who might be both lefty."

Nevertheless, Miller's coaching and strategy have paid off.

"Look, I'd be lying if I said I expected to be where we were (eventually), pitching-wise, going into the heart of the season. But the staff was headlined by Justin Verlander, and Ryan Pressly was the closer, and unheralded Framber (Valdes) got the accolades by being an All-Star, and Hector (Neris), Bryan (Abreu), Rafael (Montero) and Ryan (Pressly) handled a lot of those (relief) innings."

Now, the veteran Verlander has signed with the New York Mets, where he will join Max Scherzer.

"I was happy to see him return to the mound (after Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the 2021 season)," Miller said. "We had a good working relationship. He's a very intense competitor, knows himself very well, what he thinks he needs for the bullpen … It's a shame to see him go with the Mets."

The Astros, meanwhile, have added some clout by signing former White Sox slugger Jose Abreu, and re-signing Montero and Michael Brantley, who both had declared for free agency.

"A lot of teams have gotten a lot better, but we did, too," Miller said. "Everybody is aiming to shoot at us. I think we're all excited to get cranking again."

Especially himself, now that he has the best seat in the house.

Meet Josh Miller

A free event entitled “Josh Miller Night — Dreams Come True” will honor the hometown pitching coach for the World Series champion Houston Astros at St. Sebastian’s By-The-Sea Episcopal Church, 2010 Oak St. in Melbourne Beach, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 6-8 p.m. The reception includes a free raffle for Astros souvenirs, a Q&A session and refreshments.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Astros pitching coach Josh Miller to be honored Wednesday, Jan. 25