All-Time Indians: Jake Miller

An Ohio boy, born in Wagram, Jake Miller played baseball for the Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota before going pro in 1922 at the age of 24. A left handed starter, he pitched around the independent leagues until eventually being signed by the Indians in 1924.

The 1923 rotation had been an impressive one with Stan Coveleski leading the way for George Uhle and Joe Shaute, but in 1924, Coveleski struggled in what would be his final season in Cleveland and Uhle threw 160 less innings than the year before (which isn’t an insult as he had set the team record with 357.2 in 1923). Looking for depth, the Indians brought in Miller, who pitched in two September games including a complete game with no earned runs allowed in his last appearance.

Sherry Smith had taken over as the top pitcher in 1924, but he struggled in 1925 as did Uhle. Miller joined the rotation in June and by the end of the season, would be the best on the team. While he wasn’t always great, he finished with a 3.31 ERA in 190.1 innings. Of his 22 starts, he completed 13 and his final ERA was 0.3 runs better than the next best starter, Garland Buckeye.

Continuing from his success in 1925, Miller started game three of the 1926 season behind George Uhle and Joe Shaute and threw a complete game, three hit shut out. Unfortunately, an injury then kept him out of the rotation until the end of May, but he didn’t lose a step, holding a 3.27 ERA through 82.2 innings for the entire season. The injuries continued to plague him throughout the year and he missed a large chunk of the season between June and July and almost all of September.

Coming back from this injury in 1927, Miller had the season he probably should have the year before. While Buckeye, Shaute and Willis Hudlin threw more innings, Miller again lead all starters in ERA (3.21, his best in a full season) and WHIP (1.28) in 185.1 innings. This is particularly impressive given that he didn’t join the starting rotation until May 26th. In general, the rotation struggled this season, allowing 154 more runs than the previous year and leading the team to a 66-87 finish, the worst in over a decade. Once he joined the rotation, there wasn’t another pitcher on the staff the Indians could trust to go out and throw six innings without giving up an insurmountable lead. On the other side, Miller was the definition of dependable, completing 11 of 23 starts including two extra inning games, one that went into the 13th inning.

Things would be even worse in 1928 with the Indians winning just 62 games and Miller joining Uhle, Shaute and Hudlin as pitchers who once looked promising, but simply couldn’t keep it going. Each of these threw over 150 innings in 1928 with an ERA above 4.00 with the worst being Miller at just 158 innings and a 4.44 ERA. Fortunately for the Indians, there were two pitchers who made their debuts in 1927 and 1928, Wes Ferrell and Mel Harder, who would go on to have a lengthier period of excellence.

For Ferrell, this would begin in 1929 as he lead all starters with 21 wins, but Miller was arguably better with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP, both numbers behind only Hudlin among qualified starters. Both his 29 starts and 206 innings would be career bests as Miller had one season back on top before his downfall.

That fall was abrupt as in 1930 he pitched just 88.1 innings, making only nine starts with a 7.13 ERA and the next year he threw only 41.1 with a 4.35 ERA. Both of these seasons, Ferrell and Harder lead the rotation with Hudlin staying on as well, but in general, no one stood out. This was a time of offense in baseball in general and on the Indians in particular.

In 1932, this changed slightly as Ferrell and Harder came into their own and Miller was expendable (in addition to being beyond his useful days. He was released and signed with the Tigers first, then the Cardinals, but didn’t make it back to the Majors. In July, he was traded to the White Sox for Hal Anderson and in 1933, he made 14 starts for Chicago, pitching his final 105.2 innings. These would be the last of his career as he retired after 1933 after which he left baseball for good. Jake Miller died in 1975 at the age of 77.