One of the great things about podcasting is that you can sit down with people like St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas for the better part of an hour and hear about his incredible journey from the MLB to Japan and back again.
The downside is that you, the listener, don’t get to see the incredible offseason flow and ‘stache that Miles has been working on.
Even so, this conversation with Seth, BP, and Miles is great for pitchers, coaches, and fans alike.
From the Bullpen to the Rotation
Miles goes into detail about landing in the bullpen after his early struggles as a starter in low-A ball, and one team’s misfortune turned into a career-changing opportunity for him.
“The Rangers lost about 100 games that year, so their season was kind of a wash,” Miles said. “At that point, they were basically like, Does Mikolas have a pulse? Great, call him up.”
Miles and his wife were on their honeymoon when they received the offer to go overseas to play in Japan and continue honing his craft as a starter.
“I was in Triple-A, I was up and down, bouncing around, and I decided we’d just go,” Mikolas said. “Worst case scenario, you give it a try, come back and you’re in the same spot you were before. Best case scenario…actually happened.”
Back to The Bigs
When Miles returned from Japan, he didn’t just find a home in a Major League rotation, he had the best year of his professional career.
As a starter for the Cardinals, Miles posted a record of 18-4 (10-0 on the road) with a 2.83 ERA and was named to the 2018 All-Star Game.
In this episode of the Rapsodo Baseball Podcast, Miles discusses his career and goes in depth on his pitching arsenal and the mentality he takes to the mound each time out.
