For years, Mason Miller has been one of the best closers in all of baseball. Over his four years in the majors, he has a 2.63 ERA over 171 1/3 innings with 273 strikeouts to 67 walks, a 0.916 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 160. He has become famous for his ability to close out games and his high velocity. He is considered by many to have the fastest pitch in baseball, with his fastball consistently topping 100 mph.
However, this year things have gotten even better for Miller. Over his 11 appearances this season, he has not allowed a run and has only allowed four baserunners all season. This is a level of dominance we have not seen from a reliever in years. What makes it more impressive is the fact that he has not allowed a run since August 5th. That is 32 2/3 innings without a run. But how long can he keep this up, and can he set any records?
Can Mason Miller Make History?
Currently, Miller is just two scoreless innings away from breaking the San Diego Padres record of consecutive scoreless innings set by Cla Meredith in 2006. This will be the first milestone he has to cross. From there, it will be about setting the reliever record and the all-time MLB record. The most scoreless innings by a reliever is held by Brad Zingler, who threw 39 consecutive scoreless innings back in 2008. Orel Hershiser holds the record for most consecutive scoreless innings, tossing 59 straight shutout frames in 1988.
As impressive as it would be for Miller to break Hershier’s record, it is very unlikely. With him being the Padres’ closer, he only throws one inning a night. This means he will need 27 more appearances to break Hershiser’s record. But he’s only coming in to pitch when the Padres have the lead in the ninth; he’s only getting around four to five innings a week. This means he will have to be scoreless until the end of May, assuming he pitches five times a week. It’s just too long a stretch with too many variables.
But Zingler’s record is definitely in play. He only needs to throw seven more scoreless innings in order to reach that mark. That’s a very reachable mark, especially considering how effective his pitches have been. His three main pitches have all produced an expected batting average of under .150. He has also allowed only hard contact on 33.3% of pitches. He’s been excellent at getting batters to strike out or make bad contact with the ball.
Of course, all of this depends on the Padres’ ability to win games. If the Padres are down in a game, it’s unlikely we’ll see Miller. So the Padres are going to have to take the lead for him to get some appearances. The teams they have coming up should give them some competition. They have the Colorado Rockies next, who are playing some of their best baseball, having taken two of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After that, they will have to face the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs, two of the better offensive teams in the National League. That will definitely make it a challenge for Miller to get the record.
While Miller has been pitching well enough to break Zingler’s record, it will be very challenging. Regardless of whether he breaks it or not, this stretch should be celebrated.
