A first-round Ozaukee Warrior

It came down to the final pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft for Noah Miller.

The shortstop who in May graduated from Ozaukee High School and already racked up a dugout’s worth of baseball honors waited to hear his name called.

He knew the Minnesota Twins, holders of the final competitive balance pick of the first round — afforded to the 10 lowest-revenue clubs and those from the 10 smallest markets — were interested. They were one of seven teams who had Miller in for a workout. He said he loved Target Field.

Miller’s advisors called and said there’s a chance the Twins may take him.

“They called back three minutes later and said they still didn’t know,” he said.

Then, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the 36th selection on MLB.TV, massacring the pronunciation of Ozaukee. They knew. Miller was going to Minneapolis and “My mom and dad and me and my sister were just going nuts,” he said.

He was joined on video chat by his older brother, Owen, who knew the process well. He was selected early in the third round with the 84th overall pick in 2018 by the Padres.

While it was speculated Noah would be drafted, possibly in the first or second round, he could hardly believe it.

“I was just amazed. I was mesmerized,” he said. “Wow. I just did that.”

It was 10 p.m. Sunday night, plenty early for 20-plus family members and friends to pour through the door of the Millers’ Fredonia home and celebrate. One who used to live in Minnesota brought a Twins pullover and gave it to Noah.

Owen and Noah spent about 90 minutes chatting about baseball and other players and the draft. The pair regularly talk about baseball and sometimes just about fun brother stuff.

Their father Tom said going through the process a second time was easier. He was happy Noah was drafted early and stayed up late to celebrate. They got to bed around 3:30 a.m.

Being drafted still hadn’t fully sunk in Monday afternoon.

“It’s just starting to,” Noah said. “I’m a little tired right now.”

He has a vivid memory of when his older brother was drafted.

“I was in English class,” he said.

“He was all mad at us because we didn’t let him stay home,” his mother Rose said.

Owen made his Major League Debut with the Cleveland Indians this season, and Noah chose to miss Ozaukee High School’s graduation ceremony to go see him play. Their sister Loren, who will be a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh this fall, missed it because she was on a mission trip to Belize.

On Sunday, all the family members were at home and Owen was there via modern technology.

“We felt like we were all together,” Rose said.

The family often spent time together thanks to America’s pastime.

“I’ve thrown a lot of BP (batting practice) to these guys, and grounders,” Tom said.

His sons kept wanting to play.

“They haven’t taken off since they’ve been 4 years old,” Tom said.

Their success, he said, comes more from hard work than from genes. Tom played football, baseball and wrestled at Ozaukee High, and later played baseball in men’s leagues.

His high school sweetheart Rose played on a state championship volleyball team and ran track.

Noah and Owen often invited their cousins Matt and Natalie to ride their bikes over for games of Wiffle ball in the Millers’ large back yard. Games got competitive and were frequent.

“When I tell you we played a lot of Wiffle ball, we played a lot of Wiffle ball,” Noah said.

It’s mind blowing for Noah to comprehend how far he has come.

“It’s wild. I went from playing Wiffle ball back there to getting drafted,” he said. 

When they weren’t playing outside, Noah and Owen were hitting balls into a net, lifting weights or bouncing balls off the wall, all in their basement. Tom estimates 100 light bulbs were sacrificed in the process.

“Even darts get competitive. Ping-pong gets competitive,” he said.

“This was supposed to be a bedroom and bathroom,” Rose said of the basement, “but they would never let us.”

They may not have known it at the time, but they were stoking each other’s competitive fires for success years later. Matt played third base alongside Noah at shortstop on Ozaukee’s team and made the Big East Conference first team as pitcher and third baseman. Natalie played on the other side of Noah, starting at second base as a freshman.

Noah was named Big East Player of the Year and made the all-state first team, along with a host of other awards.

He hit .667 on the season (which ballooned to .833 with runners in scoring position) with five home runs, three triples, 20 RBI, 33 runs scored, seven walks and zero strikeouts for the Warriors, who didn’t lose a game until the sectional final. He had a .947 fielding percentage and didn’t allow an earned run in 5-1/3 innings pitched.

He next expects to play in the Florida Complex League with other high school graduates and foreign players, some as young as 16.

Noah has often received advice from Owen. He was 12 when his older brother went to play baseball for Illinois State and 15 when he was drafted.

“He was telling me everything,” Noah said.

Both improved during the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic. Triple-A baseball was canceled and Owen was sent home for a few months. Noah was attending school online like the rest of the country, and family time was often spent at Ozaukee High School’s baseball field.

“These guys made huge gains. Noah gained 12 pounds of muscle,” Tom said. “As a family, we took advantage of the time.”

Getting the gang together now will be more difficult. The Indians hold spring training in Arizona and the Twins in Florida.

“I guess the Millers will be going to two spring trainings,” Rose said.

The family is happy that most of the Twins’ Minor League teams aren’t far away. One team is in Fort Myers, Fla., but the others are in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wichita, Kan., and St. Paul, Minn.

What helped draw Noah to baseball is his size. At 6 feet and 185 pounds, football and basketball would be challenging, although he did break Ozaukee High’s record for career points in hoops last season.

“Baseball is all about competitiveness, not the seven-foot basketball players,” he said.

Noah said his favorite player to watch is San Francisco Giants’ shortstop Brandon Crawford.

“He is a very good infielder,” he said.

Noah someday hopes to join him in that regard. He knows the draft is just one step.

“We’re not done. This is only the beginning,” he said.

For Loren, her brothers’ success gives her an identity crisis.

“Now am I going to be known as Owen’s sister or Noah’s sister?” she asked.