World Series: From teammates to foes, Indians' Miller, Cubs' Chapman meet again
The Yankees traded Chapman and Miller at the deadline
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
CLEVELAND -- Just as the Yankees hoped, their super bullpen will yield a World Series championship this season. Just not in New York.
When the World Series begins Tuesday, the Cubs and Indians will take the field with a dominant reliever acquired from the Yankees at the trade deadline in their bullpen. The Cubs brought in Aroldis Chapman, and about a week later, the Indians acquired Andrew Miller.
"The rumors -- I don't know exactly when they started, but they certainly picked up when we were in the middle of the pack in the AL East," said Miller on Monday. "He got a traded a few days before I did. You know when you get traded you're going to a good team ... Both of us had zero control over where we ended up, and it just so happened we both got traded to pretty good places. I couldn't ask for a better situation."
Miller and Chapman are both very similar and very different. They're both truly elite end-game left-handed relievers who overpower hitters. The two combined to strike out 213 batters in only 132 1/3 innings during the regular season. They've since added another 31 strikeouts in 19 2/3 postseason innings. Total dominance.
And yet, Miller and Chapman go about it in different ways. Miller is long and lanky at 6-foot-7, and those long arms allow him to release his wicked slider almost from behind left-handed hitters. He actually throws that slider more than his fastball. Not many relievers do that.
Chapman, on the other hand, is simply the hardest thrower in baseball history. His slider and changeup are solid offerings, but when you think about Chapman, you think 101, 102, 103, 104, 105. It's a shame the term "freak of nature" has been so overused, because Chapman truly is a freak of nature. Humans aren't supposed to throw this hard.
"It's impossible not to have that be the first thing you think of," said Miller of Chapman's velocity. "Incredibly hard-worker. It's not a fluke. He's not some guy that's just pure talent and going out there and throwing the ball up there. He works really hard. Maybe there's a perception it's easy because he's such an outlier, he throws the ball so hard, relies on his fastball so heavily, he puts in a lot of time to get where he is. He's a guy you want on your team."
The Indians will lean on Miller more than the Cubs lean on Chapman in the World Series. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he doesn't think it would be fair to ask Chapman to change his routine in the postseason so he could be used as much as Miller, so he's going to remain the closer. Miller will enter whenever Terry Francona believes the game is on the line, regardless of the inning.
When the season started, Miller and Chapman were teammates, and along with Dellin Betances, they formed arguably the most dominant bullpen trio in history. Things didn't work out as the Yankees hoped -- not because of the bullpen, of course -- so they made the decision to trade Miller and Chapman for prospects at the deadline. Now the Cubs and Indians are being rewarded for making those trades.
"We're very different pitchers," said Chapman through a translator on Monday. "I was impressed with his talent (during our time in New York). We're different pitchers though. We have different routines, different ways of pitching. I just think it's a great time and we're fortunate to be playing against him."
