Get To Know Q&A: Brad Miller is happy to bring his versatility to the Brewers

Todd Rosiak
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Utility player Brad Miller was hoping to end up with the Brewers after he was designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak caught up with Milwaukee Brewers utility man Brad Miller to discuss the trade that brought him to Milwaukee, playing for small-market franchises, why he doesn’t wear batting gloves and the other notable alumni of his Orlando high school. Miller, 28, is hitting .292 with a home run and four runs batted in since joining the team June 23. He’s playing on a one-year contract that pays him $4.5 million this season, with the Brewers responsible for $500,000.

Q. Word is your high school (Olympia in Orlando, Fla.) has turned out some pretty impressive athletes aside from yourself. Who pops to mind?

A. It’s fairly new, so there are some schools in Orlando that have more tradition. Jesse Winker of the Reds and myself as far as baseball right now in the big leagues, but we’ve got a couple more on the way. We’ve got Nick Gordon from the Twins – Dee Gordon’s little brother – who’s probably the next one, and then some more coming up after him. Trevor Siemian (current Minnesota Vikings quarterback) and Chris Johnson (former Tennessee Titans running back) in football. Definitely some guys have come out there. Siemian is two years younger than me. He was our shortstop after me, and he could have played baseball wherever he wanted to. He’s a great dude. Whenever we’re home we try to get together and meet up and tell stories. It’s been a lot of fun watching him. So I don’t really have an NFL team; I just kind of pull for wherever he’s at. Now he’s in Minnesota backing up Kirk Cousins. He’s going to play for a long time.

Q. You can't really beat being traded to a team that has the best record in the National League, can you?

A. No (laughs). Obviously it’s a great opportunity for me to come into this clubhouse and this organization. Best record in the National League, and I’m just really excited. When I was talking about some of the places I could end up during that limbo stage (after the Tampa Bay Rays designated him for assignment; the Brewers then traded Ji-Man Choi to the Rays in exchange for Miller and cash) this was definitely the place I was hoping I ended up. So it worked out really well.

Q. Is it a welcoming environment for new players? The clubhouse has a reputation as a good one.

A. For sure. Extremely welcoming – everybody from the players to the staff to the support staff. It’s been as easy a transition as possible. I’ve only been here a little while, but everyone seems very resilient and very loose, but confident. I think it’s one thing to have fun and be confident, but we realize the goal is to win. So, it’s a really good balance of that from what I can see.

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Q. Like the Brewers, the Rays are a small-market team. But it seems like they’re constantly selling off rather than adding players whereas the Brewers cut their rebuild short this year in an attempt to compete for the playoffs. Was that tough to deal with in Tampa Bay?

A. As players, our whole purpose is competition. So players are never trying to lose. That’s our whole thing – we don’t care if we’re making the league minimum or $50 million. It doesn’t matter. You still compete and hold yourself to a high standard. That’s the great thing about baseball and why small-market teams are able to compete – because it isn’t all about money. But from a team perspective, obviously with the Rays, at times we didn’t play as well as we should, and that led to the front office making some tough decisions and the front office getting rid of some really competitive, good guys. I remember sitting at home in 2016 watching the playoffs and seeing a lot of my ex-teammates and being happy for them. But as players, we compete all the time, we play to win and that’s why I’m excited about being part of this clubhouse. Everybody’s on the same page. The best advice I ever got was from Raul Ibañez. He said, "Our contract says player. Regardless of if we trade a guy or acquire a guy, you still have to go out and play." A guy gets hurt, it’s next man up. To me, that’s what being a professional is all about – just playing baseball. We have a job to do, and they have to make decisions and go about their jobs. The job of a player is just to play.

Q. One of your teammates with the Rays this season was Carlos Gomez, a former fan favorite for the Brewers. He was a guy who rubbed opposing players the wrong way at times, but isn’t he also a great teammate?

A. I think that’s pretty accurate. I’d only known him from playing against him, then this year we had lockers right next to each other. He had some adversity this year, he was battling through some little nicks and bruises and he’s not playing up to his standards – because they’re high. But he brought the same energy, the same passion every day to the park. You never doubted it that he was always giving it his all, and I thought that was really cool from a player that’s established. He’s had a heck of a career up to this point and he doesn’t have anything left to prove, and he came to the field with a purpose every day. It was only 2½ months but I definitely cherish the time I had with him, and he energized me for sure.

Q. You had a career year in 2016 when you hit 30 home runs and drove in 81 runs. Was that a case where everything clicked and went right?

A. I wouldn’t say everything went right – I was hitting about .190 through April (laughs). I got off to a really bad start. But every year you’re faced with some sort of adversity, whether it’s your body or performance or just changing circumstances. I think it was just development. We expect everybody to come up and be Mike Trout from Day 1, but in reality everybody grows and you improve and you keep getting better and better. I found some things about this time in June and really heated up and went on a tear for a couple months and was able to get the most at-bats that I’ve had in my career. It was awesome. Definitely did some really cool things that year, and maybe some things in the back of my mind I thought I was capable of but was able to go out and do it and prove it. That was pretty rewarding.

 

Q. The Brewers love versatility, and you’ve played all over the field as a professional. Is that something you picked up as your career progressed?

A. I played exclusively shortstop in college, all the way up through the minors and into the big leagues. I didn’t really move until 2015. I won the shortstop job out of camp and then had some other guys come up after the first couple months and they moved me to the outfield because they thought I had a knack for doing that. In 2015 I got to play a good amount in center field, some more in the corners and then obviously was still able to play shortstop and second. Got traded to Tampa, went back to shortstop and then they ended moving me to first base. Played second base all last year and then this year pretty much just first. I was excited to come here to the National League with the versatility that’s needed, but also because the Brewers showed they believed in me playing shortstop and second base. That’s what I am. I’m capable of playing anywhere and doing that and filling in. But I’m a shortstop and a second baseman and it was cool having a team with a fresh perspective and getting to work on that with them.

Q. The only positions you haven’t played in the majors are pitcher and catcher. Any interest in knocking those two out with the Brewers?

A. Catcher? No chance. No chance. That’s a stupid position. They’re crazy back there. I’ve begged to get up on the mound when things have happened, but we all want to get up there. I’d rather just stick to up the middle and move around when needed.

Q. How do you stay sharp at multiple positions?

A. I’ve never really played every position (in a season). This was all over the course of five years. So for me, right now, it’s whatever the role is. Right now, that’s shortstop and second and I’m really spending all my time on that. It’s what I’m prepared to play. The other day in a pinch I had to play first, but I’ve played there a lot this year (in Tampa Bay). Really, it’s just honing down on shortstop and second and if something comes up, you’ve just got to work at it. That’s the thing about moving to all these positions – none of them are easy, none of them are too over the top. You’ve just got to work at it.

Q. You’re a rarity in that you don’t wear batting gloves. What’s the reason?

A. Never have worn batting gloves. Just don’t like the feeling. No cool story. Some guys obviously like the feeling with them; they feel it gives them extra grip. I’m just the opposite; I just like the feeling of the bat.

Q. You pointed out that your Brewers teammate Stephen Vogt doesn’t wear batting gloves. You guys were teammates previously, correct?

A. Yeah, we were in Triple-A together, played against each other when I was Seattle and he was in Oakland. I have a ton of respect for Vogter. He’s a stud. But it’s kind of a little fraternity (of players who don’t wear batting gloves). It’s a little crew with respect going back and forth.

Q. So it would be you, Vogt, Brooks Conrad and Craig Counsell as recent Brewers who are part of that no-batting-gloves fraternity. What other current players are members?

A. Wil Myers is one. Joey Wendle. Some guys I’ve played with do it off and on, like Kendrys Morales. He’d randomly just ditch them. He was awesome. He’d grab different bats, he’d tape up his fingers. He had a bunch of different things going. Sam Travis for the Red Sox. Justin Bour. Cool little crew.

Q. Do your hands just harden up and callus after all the swings you take?

A. My hands are just dry. That’s usually the No. 1 factor. It’s usally the moisture that gets people to use them. But for me, my hands are dry. I’ll do a little rosin, sometimes a little pine tar. I’ll grab some dirt sometimes.

Q. What about bats? Are you particular about those?

A. Oh yeah, we all are. I’m pretty boring. I swing the same model, same make (Old Hickory) and everything. I’ll switch here and there, a little length or weight or something. But we’re baseball players. If we hit a homer, that’s our bat.

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