THROUGH WORLD OF CHANGES, LYLE MILLER-GREEN PLAYS HIS GAME
Written by: Brendan Gallian
Former Down East Bird Dawgs first baseman Lyle Miller-Green stands out when he’s on the field.
At 6-foot-6, he’s noticeably taller than his fellow fielders and is a commanding presence in the box thanks to both his height and veteran approach.
“He's really, really smart,” said manager Brett Wellman. “Some people think he's just a big donkey that can hit the ball really far, but he's a really smart baseball player.”
His baseball acumen was enough to interest the Philadelphia Phillies, who signed the towering first baseman this weekend.
Miller-Green stands out in another way. His road to professional baseball began in an unlikely place: southern Siberia.
Miller-Green, born Oleg Sergevich Kornev, was adopted by American parents when he was 9 months old. He grew up with them — and baseball — in northern Virginia.
“I feel like I hit the lottery in coming to the States,” Miller-Green said. “Being raised by such a great family, being able to play baseball my entire life, it’s such a blessing.”
When the Chicago White Sox selected him in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Miller-Green became just the second Russian-born player to be drafted.
Even though his origin story is unique, he’s fitting right in playing America’s pastime.
Still only 25, Miller-Green is set to join his eleventh team since graduating high school in 2019. He played for four different colleges, three collegiate summer league teams, two White Sox minor league affiliates, the Bird Dawgs, and now the Phillies Single-A affiliate: the Clearwater Threshers.
“He has some veteran presence; he's gonna get mad that I say that, because it's going to make him sound like he's old,” Wellman said. “He's been around; he was in affiliated ball for a long time.”
At one of his previous stops — the Texas Collegiate League’s Amarillo Sod Squad — Miller-Green played under Wellman. That connection eventually led Miller-Green to head down east to join the Bird Dawgs.
“After I got released by the White Sox, I hit (Wellman) up just to let him know what's going on,” Miller-Green said. “He said I had an invitation to come play for him, so I was pretty excited about that.”
Miller-Green took his new opportunity in the Frontier League and ran with it. He was a steady presence at the heart of the Bird Dawgs’ order and ranked among the team leaders in nearly every offensive category.
“He's not like big guys just trying to head homers every time, he goes up with a plan, and he accomplishes it,” said former hitting coach TJ White.
For as polished a hitter as Miller-Green is, he used to be a skilled pitcher, too. When he committed to Virginia Tech during his sophomore year of high school, it was to pitch only.
He came into his own as a hitter over his final high school seasons, and, even though a coaching change meant that Miller-Green began his college career at George Mason University, he still appeared both at the plate and on the mound throughout his collegiate career.
When the White Sox drafted him out of Austin Peay, in fact, it was as a two-way player. Throughout his seasons in Minor League Baseball, Miller-Green finally made the transition from full-time pitcher to full-time hitter. Although he’s happy with his role, he didn’t rule out a potential return to the mound at some point.
“I'm content with the fact that I'm a hitter only,” Miller-Green said. “Maybe, who knows, down the road, I'll become a pitcher.”
For now, though, he looks poised to continue raking as he returns to Minor League Baseball. Miller-Green said that he’s had a much easier time preparing for games now that he doesn’t have to deal with the pressure of pitching.
“It just takes the pressure off of getting ready for a start day,” Miller-Green said. “Pretty much every year that I pitched, I've been a starter, so I don't really have to worry about that stress, trying to go six, seven innings in a ball game.”
“Now I could just focus on getting a few knocks every night, just hitting the ball hard and helping my team find ways to win,” he said.
From Siberia to Virginia to every one of his nearly one dozen baseball stops over the last half-decade, and from the mound to the plate, Miller-Green is no stranger to changes of scenery.
There has been at least one constant through it all: baseball.
“You just got to be where your feet are,” Miller-Green said. “At the end of the day, no matter what jersey you have on, no matter what city you're in, you're just playing the same game.”
Now, Miller-Green looks to keep playing his game as he returns to affiliated baseball with the Phillies.
