Manhattan College Excited To Welcome David Miller As New Baseball Head Coach

Manhattan College’s baseball team struts into their 2023 season with a new leader: recently appointed head coach David Miller.

Miller previously coached the NCAA Division III team at Penn State University, Abington. Miller also coached at LaSalle University. He brought success to both programs and plans to do the same at MC.

Miller had a history of playing professional baseball. He was an All-American at Clemson University, then drafted in the first round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians, now known as the Cleveland Guardians. Miller spent 10 years in the league.

“I think being a pro has helped me become a great coach because I was surrounded by some of the best players in the MLB,” Miller said. “When you’re spending close to seven years learning from guys like Manny Ramirez, Jim Tomei, Omar Vizquel, Kenny Lofton, I went to the Braves and I was in a camp with Chipper Jones, Andrew Jones, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine you go to Cincinnati and you’re in camp with Ken Griffey Jr. and Sean Casey and Barry Larken and these are just great guys to learn the game from and so, you know, it wasn’t the career I wanted, you know, not being able to stay healthy but I believed it was a career that I needed to become a good coach.”

Miller told The Quadrangle he has gratitude for the lessons he has learned and all the players he was able to meet while in the MLB.

Miller discussed his success and achievements coaching for both a Division III school and a Division I school.

“Last year I was at a division three school called Penn State Abington,” Miller said. “I was the Coach of the Year and that conference last year we were 33-11. I guess our biggest accomplishment with that team was we were the number one offense in the country for Division III. The year before that I was a Division I head coach at a school called LaSalle University in Philadelphia. Unfortunate- ly, the program was cut but in my last year there we had the best record in school history. I was the Atlantic 10 Head Coach of the Year.”

Miller has some exciting plans for Manhattan baseball’s future. He hopes to create a special bond with the team that eventually leads to success.

Miller shared his expectations for himself and his team this season. He discusses the importance of winning and how to achieve it.

“My expectations are pretty simple,” Miller said. “This team competes hard. I think they’re ready to win. These young men are hungry. They worked their butts off. This is a team that, if they buy into the purpose, they have the stuff to win the MAAC Conference. My expectations are nothing less than to win a conference title this year.”

Miller told The Quadrangle he is proud of the hard work and effort the team has put into each and every practice in the off season and he can’t wait to finally kick off the season.

Miller discussed the importance of working together and being not just a team, but a family. He emphasized how crucial it is to always stick together and work to make each other better players and better people.

“I want them to become a team, kind of a family,” Miller said. “I’ve been in this game a long time, and I’ve been out of college over 20 years, but I still talk to my college teammates and if I don’t talk to them once every five years it is still like a brotherhood. I want these guys to learn the value of hard work. I want them to learn that nothing is given and everything is earned. I want them to understand, you know, what a team is all about.”

Miller encourages his players every day to be the best versions of themselves on and off the field. He knows that every player hopes to make it to the big leagues one day but emphasizes that, along with that dream, comes hard work.

Players spoke highly of Miller and discussed their excitement to start the season.

Outfielder Frankie Marinelli talked about the experience of playing for a coach with a great success rate and professional experience in the league.

“Just being around it, it helps us, even just him being able to see our swings or see how we can develop as a player, and him being able to be around us so much,” Marinelli said. “He’s able to give us great knowledge and with all his experience, it goes a long way and can even be seen from the first few weeks he was here. It’s all about winning too, I know that he’s a guy that wants to win, and he’s definitely bringing that to our team.”

Marinelli told The Quadrangle some expectations he has for himself this season, including to be a team player season, doing whatever it takes to ensure that they have a winning season.

Pitcher Kyle Lesler talked about his excitement to work with Miller this season.

“I’m most excited to feed off of the energy that he brings,” Lesler said. “He’s brought a different culture, he brings a new attitude and what this team has really been used to seeing every single day, he shows up, he’s a happy guy.”

Lesler spoke about how Miller goes to all the lengths to push him and his teammates further. Lesler is able to admire and soak in what Miller tells them because Miller has experienced it firsthand. Lesler uses this motivation to make sure he’s being the best version of himself.

Outfielder and infielder Pete Durocher talked about getting to work with Miller and how he can improve his game for the better.

“The experience that he brings to the table is you just picking his brain after every bat,” Durocher said. “[Miller] is going to be standing in the dugout, he watches everything. Everything he sees, I’m just going to be asking, what can I do better next time and just feeding off of his knowledge. That’s what I’m most excited for.”

Durocher hopes to be the best captain he can be for his team, become someone they can all trust and go to for anything. He hopes to keep the team tightly knit and win some games.

The Jaspers season begins Feb. 17 and Miller, Marinelli, Lesler, Durocher and the rest of the team can’t wait to get to work in hopes of bringing home a conference title this year.