Sixty-one years after the legendary Johnny Miller hit his first golf ball at BYU, his grandson, Owen, will throw his first pitch. The 6-foot-3 right-hander will start for the Cougars (1-2) Monday night in the series finale at Fresno State (7 p.m., BYURadio).
“I’m pretty nervous coming straight out of high school, but it’s also an honor that they have the trust in me to go out there and compete for them and hopefully get a win,” said Miller about pitching his first actual game since last year’s state playoffs for Orem High. “I know I can do it, and I have the skills to do it.”
Trent Pratt knows he can do it too.
“We are looking for him to go out there and pound the strike zone,” said BYU’s third-year head coach. “He’s out there (tonight) because we think he can help us win.”
Miller hails from a family of golfers. His dad, Scott, and uncles, Andy and Todd, all teed it up for the Cougars. Todd is currently the director of golf at BYU and Owen’s grandfather, Johnny, was BYU’s first golf All-American and his professional conquests included winning the 1973 U.S. Open and 1976 Open Championship.
“Obviously I played golf growing up, but it never stuck with me,” Miller said. “I enjoyed baseball more, so I stuck with that.”
Not only is Miller the first in his family to play baseball at BYU (his mom, Ashley, ran track), but he is also the only freshman on the pitching staff and, in a matter of days, he will get word on his whereabouts for the next two years — and that trumps any anxiety over tonight.
“Waiting for my mission call is a little more nerve-wracking,” Miller said. “I have a really close relationship with my parents and siblings, so it’s a hard sacrifice to put everything on hold, especially my family and baseball, but it’s all for a good cause. I’m nervous, but I’m super excited to go serve people and spread the word.”
Miller’s church mission could take him anywhere, but his current task has him in Fresno against an aggressive group of Bulldogs whose bite has matched their bark as they won two of the first three games in the series.
“He’s been around athletics his whole life and knows what it takes to be good. The family knows what it takes,” Pratt said. “He’s kind of a quiet kid, but he works like crazy. He’s not afraid. You ask him to do something, and he does it. He puts his head down and goes to work. That’s how he was raised.”
Miller stands tall at 6-foot-3. On top of the 10-inch mound, he appears even taller. The young gun has an arsenal that includes a change-up, slider and fastball, which can hit 91 mph on the radar gun. His first collegiate pitch Monday night will make personal history — he’s just not sure which pitch it will be.
“Whatever (pitching coach) Abe (Alvarez) calls for me,” he said. “That’s what I’ll throw.”
And that’s how the legacy of the latest Miller at BYU will begin.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.