CLEVELAND _ Michael Jackson's "Beat It" has become an anthem of destruction in Cleveland.
That's the song that plays as Indians relief pitcher Andrew Miller jogs out of the bullpen and warms up. And it comes just before fans witness why he is one of the more lethal weapons in baseball today.
Miller has done more than come to Cleveland and help the Indians' bullpen. He's having one of the most dominant postseasons for any reliever in baseball history, effectively erasing two innings off of any game in which the Indians hold a lead.
In 112/3 innings this postseason, he's struck out 21 hitters, given up only five hits and walked none. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to strike out 20 hitters within his first 27 outs. In Games 1 and 2 of the American League Championship Series, he struck out 10 of the 12 hitters he faced, mowing through a dangerous Toronto Blue Jays lineup.
And on Wednesday, he was named the ALCS Most Valuable Player. It's been a quick return on the Indians' investment from their blockbuster deal at the trade deadline.
"We were talking about who we should acquire at the deadline. This is the reason," pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. "Somebody who can come in in the biggest spots, who we can leverage to the max. That's why we went and got him."
The Indians did give up a lot for Miller.
Clint Frazier is a top 30 or 40 prospect across the league. Justus Sheffield was one of the top pitching prospects in the Indians' system. Those two led a four-player package that, for a reliever, was a hefty price tag and would have been considered somewhat crazy a couple of decades ago.
The Indians wanted to be aggressive. They saw they could have something special building. They knew Miller would be a weapon, particularly in the postseason, through the 2018 season, when his current $9 million per year contract runs out. But what they have gotten has been a virtual cheat code, one that no lineup has been able to crack.
The expectations were already high, but the Indians got more than even they bargained for. And baseball fans in Cleveland have a new favorite song.
"We gave up a lot, but it's all about winning," owner Paul Dolan said. "And we were positioned to win this year and it's very clear now that Andrew Miller was the big difference in terms of getting us there, because of what he meant to our pitching staff and our bullpen, particularly. Yeah, years from now I suspect we'll look at some of these guys that we traded and say, 'Why did we trade them?' But then we'll look at the couple trophies we have and we'll know why we did it."
