Miller, Jr. Starts His Pro Career with a Bang

In Game One of the regular season, a win against the Grand Junction Rockies, the Idaho Falls Chukars lineup was paced by its' catcher and number eight hitter, Freddy Fermin. In a 17-11, Game Two loss to Grand Junction, the Chukars were again led by their catcher and number eight hitter, but this time, that man was Darrell Miller, Jr.
Miller Jr., played his first professional baseball game last night and he thrived in the process. Behind the plate, Darrell caught three runners attempting to steal second base.
"It's always huge when you throw baserunners out to help your pitcher," said Chukars hitting coach Damon Hollins. "Those were all long innings which he shortened, He killed some rallies. We have two good catchers that can handle our pitching staff. They just need to continue learning, get better at calling games, and listen to [Gemoll], Suppan and the rest of our coaching staff."
At the plate, he was just as solid. Miller, Jr. finished the contest 3-4, with a run scored and 3 RBI, including a two-run opposite field home run in his first professional baseball at-bat. It was Darrell's first game action since 2015. He missed his entire senior season at UCLA in 2016 due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder. 
Miller, Jr. is the son of Darrell Miller, Sr., a former MLB catcher who spent the 1984-1988 seasons as a catcher with the California Angels. Miller, Sr. also began his professional career in Idaho Falls, back in 1979 with the Angels affiliate.
But the athletic genes don't stop there. Miller, Jr. is the nephew of two Basketball Hall of Famers: Reggie Miller, an 18-year NBA veteran with the Indiana Pacers and second all-time in 3-pointers made in the NBA, as well as women's basketball legend Cheryl Miller, who played college basketball at USC. Like his uncle Reggie, Darrell, Jr. attended UCLA, but played baseball, following in his father's footsteps.
Damon Hollins was even more impressed with Miller's night at the plate than he was with his strong defensive showing.
"He did very well tonight despite the heat and catching," said Hollins. "[Miller, Jr.] was able to put together four solid at-bats, hit four balls well and the only out he had was a hard fly-ball to left-center. He needs to sustain it and keep on going."
Despite Miller's excellent performance, Idaho Falls lost for the first time this year, in the second game of the season. The Chukars are 1-1 with two games remaining in this four-game series before opening up at home against Orem on Friday.
The Chukars are back in action tonight for game three of this opening four-game set against the Grand Junction Rockies at Suplizio Field. You can listen to the game on KSPZ, ESPN Radio Idaho Falls on 980 AM and 105.1 FM in the Upper Valley, and 94.5 FM in the Pocatello area. All broadcasts also stream live on 980thezone.com, as well as on KSPZ via the TuneIn app and tunein.com. Pregame coverage begins at 6:25 PM MT, followed by first pitch at 6:40.