“12 Gage” sure didn’t miss the target.
Read More: Major League Baseball draft could be Miller time for Palmyra graduate
Former Palmyra baseball standout Gage Miller, nicknamed “12 Gage” for fairly obvious reasons due to his skills with a bat in his hand, hit the bullseye on a lifelong dream Monday, July 15, when he was selected with the 92nd pick in the third round of the Major League Baseball Amateur by the Miami Marlins.
A 2021 Palmyra alum, Miller was considered a good, not great, player coming out of high school, one whose ceiling would probably be reached at the college level with a small Division One program or a DII PSAC power like Millersville or Shippensburg.
And there certainly would have been no shame in playing at such a quality level of collegiate baseball. Miller, though, had his sights set a little higher. After two seasons of paying his dues at Bishop State Community College in Alabama, Miller took a giant step up the ladder this past spring when the third baseman/second baseman became the indispensable leadoff hitter for Alabama’s Crimson Tide. Yes, that Alabama.
Miller produced a junior season for the ages at ‘Bama, hitting .358 with 18 home runs, 56 RBIs, 72 runs scored, and a .702 slugging percentage that earned him multiple All-American honors and placed him into the upper levels of many an MLB draft board.
The improbable rise peaked, for the time being, a little after 2 p.m. Monday when the Marlins called his name.
“This is a dream come true,” Miller said in a text late Monday. “I can’t wait to get started.”
Check back to LebTown later this week for more on Lebanon County’s latest entrant into the world of professional baseball.
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