Miller's exit marks an end of an era

By Ryan Metz

Long before there was a Home Run Porch in left field, a swanky Intel Club or a grassy knoll called the berm for fans to enjoy at The Dell Diamond, it started with a modest trailer that housed all those visions. In 1998, the trailer sat where the Salt Lick is now located; into it crammed the half-dozen Express employees before a single shovel broke ground.

The institution was built in that trailer. Values such as affordable family entertainment, quality baseball (evidenced by a Double-A Texas League Championship in the inaugural season), and - mostly importantly - placement of the fans at the top of the importance ladder.

The bellwether that carried that ethos out: Jay Miller.

Miller, 51, was appointed by the Texas Rangers as Senior Vice President in mid-August, ending an era of the Round Rock Express Baseball Club.

"It's a bittersweet deal," Miller said. "I've made a lot of really great friends, and I'll miss every one of them. But I'm telling every one of them that this isn't goodbye. It's more like, 'See you later.'"

Hand picked by Nolan Ryan and his son, Reid, in September 1998, Miller previously served as general manager of the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs.

"We never even interviewed anyone else," Express founder, owner and CEO Reid Ryan said. "It was a situation where when I went to New Orleans to visit him, he and I struck up a friendship. I felt very comfortable with him."

The opening season in 2000 had a proposal for 450,000 fans to go through the turnstiles. The Express drew more than 660,000 fans, shattering records along the way.

For the 2005 season, Ryan Sanders Baseball moved its Texas League franchise to Corpus Christi and shifted the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League to Round Rock after purchasing that team.

The team has thrived along the way, thanks in large part to Miller's leadership.

"When I leave here, I'm leaving family," said Miller in an increasingly more vacant office that sees one-by-one the memories and relics disappear. "This has been the greatest 12 years of my career. [That is] the longest I've stayed anywhere."

Miller has earned executive of the year honors multiple times at the Class-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels. He was The Sporting News Minor League Executive of the Year in 2001 and 2003, and he earned the same honor from Baseball America in 2005.

"Jay was a big league front office guy when he came to the Round Rock Express," Ryan said. "He helped take our idea and turn it into reality and make it the top organization in Minor League baseball.

"We're in the business of growing talent. I know this is going to be bittersweet. I know he's going to shed some tears when he leaves but it's a great opportunity for him."

Putting people first and trying to meet a new fan at every game, Miller credits his parents for that attitude. His father was a personnel manager at an office furniture company and never met a stranger.

"It was imbedded in me from my parents," he said. "My dad is very social. I just watched my dad. He was so personable, and I learned from him."

Miller's father, Jim, knew baseball was the right fit for Jay.

"He had his mind set that he wanted to get into baseball, and he never varied from that at all," Jim said.

Miller's mother, Gloria, had different aspirations for her son.

"I wanted Jay to be a teacher," Gloria said. "He did go through Wheaton College and got his teaching degree. When he got all done with student teaching, he said, 'All right, Mom; I've got my teacher's certificate. Can I do what I want now?'"

The move to Arlington will be a homecoming for Miller, who spent 12 years with the Rangers working in many capacities, including running the club's Florida operations in Port Charlotte. He was the Rangers' director of customer relations prior to joining the Zephyrs.

It should come as no surprise that altruistic approach was on display early on with the Rangers.

Before fans were methodically placed in the computer for identification, Miller said he would go home with a seating chart and try to remember faces.

"I memorized where everyone sat," he said. "Name recognition. That's everybody's favorite word: their name."

Express General Manager Dave Fendrick has worked with Miller since both began with the Rangers in 1983.

"Dave and I have worked together for 25 years. Leaving him is going to be hard," Miller said. "He's my best friend in life."

Miller always has been driven to make the Express the best team in Minor League baseball.

"I feel like I've had that job for 29 years where it didn't feel like I was going into work," he said. "I have such a passion for it. I can't imagine myself doing anything different than working in baseball."

The Rangers can expect the same.

"It's the same values, just more people," Miller said.

Posted on RoundRockExpress.com on Sept., 2, 2010.