TORONTO -- When the Cleveland Indians acquired Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees at the non-waiver trade deadline this season, media analysts raved about the deal because of Miller's depth and versatility. The 6-foot-7 lefty figured to be the guy who divvied up the late innings with Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw to make sure they weren't ground to a pulp by the end of the regular season.
His new bullpen mates had a slightly different reason to rejoice. It took the other Cleveland relievers about five minutes to realize Miller was just another grunt at heart.
"His first day with us, that's the one thing we noticed," said Indians reliever Dan Otero. "We said, 'He's gonna fit in right away.' He was like, 'I'll pitch the sixth or the seventh,' and he truly meant that. It wasn't just for the media. That was what he meant. He's one of the better teammates I've ever come across."
Miller struck a blow for creative bullpen use, selflessness and team spirit on Wednesday, when he was named the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player. As he walked off the mound after the eighth inning and gave way to Allen, who closed out Cleveland's clinching 3-0 victory over Toronto, Miller left a trail of awkward swings and bruised egos in his wake.
Miller became the fourth reliever to win ALCS MVP, joining Dennis Eckersley of the 1988 Oakland Athletics, Mariano Rivera of the 2003 Yankees and Koji Uehara of the 2013 Boston Red Sox. But unlike his three predecessors -- who combined for two wins and nine saves in their three series -- Miller made his mark doing the dirty work rather than recording the final out and shaking hands at the end.
In the playoffs against Boston and Toronto, Miller struck out 21 batters in 11⅔ innings -- and that's with a relatively whiff-free performance in the ALCS finale. Of the eight outs that Miller recorded over 2⅔ innings Wednesday, only one came on a strikeout.
"Tonight, he was almost like, 'I'm going to get some ground balls and conserve my pitches,'" said Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Callaway. "He can do whatever he wants.
"When we were talking about who we should acquire at the deadline, this is the reason. We wanted somebody that could come into games in the biggest spots and we could leverage to the max. That's why we went out and got him."
Miller has a career ratio of 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, so the Indians knew they were getting some swing-and-miss potential when they acquired him for former first-round picks Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and two other minor leaguers on July 31. But no one could have envisioned the devastation he has wreaked in the postseason.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, more than 2,200 players in postseason history have faced at least 20 batters in a single series. Miller's 56 percent strikeout rate in the ALCS was the highest of any of them.
Beyond the strikeouts, Miller has earned the admiration of his teammates for the workload he has absorbed. He has recorded at least four outs in each of his six playoff appearances, and he has pitched two innings on four occasions. It's not easy for a reliever to exert maximum effort for 15-20 pitches, return to the dugout and sit for 10 minutes or more, then go back out to the mound and do it all again. Yet Miller has altered his routine and pitched multiple innings on a routine basis against the most challenging lineups in October.
"That's the most impressive thing," Otero said. "There are shutdown relievers who can do it for an inning or three or four batters. He's been able to do it for five or six outings in the postseason for more than four or five outs. That's uncanny. You can't teach that. We're lucky to have him. Even with his stuff, he's a rare breed."
Miller appeared sheepish to the point of embarrassed Wednesday when asked about winning the MVP award. He quickly changed the subject to Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez and how he has received far too little praise and recognition for his contributions in the postseason.
The Game 5 celebration at Rogers Centre was particularly gratifying because of Miller's prolonged journey to get here. He failed to make it as a starter after being selected by the Detroit Tigers as the No. 6 pick in the 2006 first-year player draft out of the University of North Carolina. After drifting from Florida to Boston to Baltimore, he signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the Yankees as a free agent in December 2014. But he has never been part of a deep run in October.
"At some point in your career, once you've found a way to stick around, this is all you want," Miller said over the din in the Cleveland clubhouse. "You want to win as part of a team. Nobody wants personal accolades at this point. Everybody just wants a trophy at the end of the day.
"We're going to the World Series. It doesn't get any better than that."