If you are among those who were fortunate enough to watch (now) 23-year-old right-hander Bobby Miller pitch his way through the Dodgers minor league system at Clayton Kershaw-like speed, you already knew that they had a good one. But if you are among the thousands of Dodgers fans who said “Bobby who?” when it was announced that the Elk Grove Village, IL native, and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2020 out of McHenry High School in McHenry, IL would start the final game of Spring Training 2022 for the Dodgers, you may have been surprised when he consistently hit 100 MPH on the radar gun with his fastball, and said, “This kid is good!“

But even those who knew exactly who Bobby Miller is were shocked when he struck out the Babe Ruth of our generation – 27-year-old future Hall of Famer Shohei Ohtani – looking on six pitches … just not as shocked as Miller himself.

“I almost blacked out a little bit; a little nervous going into it, but probably the highlight of my career right there,” Miller told reporters after his scoreless, one-hit, first-ever three innings pitched in a major league ballpark; on his birthday, no less.

“You know, I think for me, the poise,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame when asked what he liked most about Miller’s outing. “I think that obviously, he didn’t look at the radar gun; you’re going to see a hundred miles an hour, you know, but for a young kid to come in here – first outing in a big-league ballpark – kept his poise, commanded his strike zone, three innings scoreless. Really fun to see – on his birthday!”

Among the 27,066 in attendance at Dodger Stadium for the Dodgers final game of Spring Training 2022 were Miller’s parents, who were ecstatic when their son K’ed Ohtani.

Although there has been no mention as to when Miller might receive his call-up to the Bigs, if you are a gambling man (or woman), you may want to go ‘All-In‘ that it will happen this season.

…and probably sooner rather than later.

Play Ball!

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