PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles Lefties manager Zach Miller knows his way around a baseball diamond as well as the cramped confines of a team bus.
He’ll see plenty of both traveling through Washington, Oregon and British Columbia this summer as the Lefties head coach.
Miller, an assistant coach for Tacoma Community College, recently wrapped up his first year with the Titans at the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament and hit the road for Civic Field.
“We just finished our spring season at Tacoma CC on Saturday, so I had a rest day on Sunday, packed a bag and came up to Port Angeles,” he said.
It’s not his first trip to town, as Miller is cousins with Port Angeles Police Sgt. Kevin Miller, a longtime police dog handler and youth baseball coach in town.
Miller said he remembers visiting the Peninsula while growing up.
“We came up quite a bit as a kid, and my wife and I came back up in the fall and I was back for the unveiling event,” Miller said.
“I think this town is on fire for baseball. The high school teams did well this spring, softball team got to the state championship, so the Lefties are an opportunity to come out and see some higher-level baseball.”
Miller, a Yelm High School product who signed with Washington State University out of school, moved to Green River after suffering shoulder problems as a Cougar.
At Green River, Miller played under Lefties co-owner Matt Acker, who guided the Gators to a third-place finish at the NWAC Tournament. Miller then capped his career with two seasons at Western Oregon University.
In between he played one summer of West Coast League ball for the Bellingham Belles and two seasons for the Kitsap Blue Jackets.
He likes what he sees at his home office, Civic Field.
“I think it’s unmatched. I’ve been to just about every WCL facility except Victoria, because they weren’t in the league back then. As far as natural surfaces go and the views you get, hands-down its the best setting.
“You can see water, mountains and baseball is nestled right in between. And the crews have it [the field] looking amazing.”
Miller said he did much of the player evaluation and talent recruiting.
“I did a majority of that and Matt having his connections as a former coach and now owner, coaches would contact him and say this kid would be a good fit for you. Then I would usually take over from there and pitch the players on coming up here to play.
Miller said he got a lot of help from Lefties’ pitching coach Scott Anderson who lives in Arizona, home of nearly year-round instructional leagues.
“We were looking for talent obviously, as we wanted guys that can compete at a high level,” Miller said. “But we wanted good kids, we wanted leaders, good community guys. Players who are able to take their spikes off and go in the stands, talk to kids, sign autographs.
“Those who wouldn’t shy away from working on volunteer projects helping out the community. So when we looked at bringing guys up one of the questions we asked was ‘Will he be a good ambassador?’”
Miller mentioned two outfielders, players who suited up last season for the Kitsap Bluejackets, in Tennessee Tech’s Alex Junior and Taylor Adams, who will play for Oregon.
“Alex, he’s got the Ken Griffey Jr. smile,” Miller said. “I think kids will gravitate to him, want to get an autograph or get a high-five. He was on the Sportscenter Top 10 plays countdown twice this season for some amazing catches.
“Taylor Adams, he was at Tacoma [Community College] with me and will play at Oregon for the Ducks next season. So to have those two guys roaming the outfield is awesome.”
Junior and his Tennessee Tech teammate Nick Osborne won’t arrive in Port Angeles until after their NCAA baseball season is complete. Tennessee Tech is competing in the Florida State Regional this weekend.
Many of the Lefties are in a similar position, wrapping up school and other responsibilities before joining the team.
“We have a lot of guys flying in on Saturday and Sunday that will be in town for the first extended home series next week,” Miller said.
He said it shouldn’t take long for hitters to make the switch to swinging wood bats.
“Those NWAC guys will be OK, the junior college guys from Arizona will be OK because they already play in wood-bat leagues,” Miller said.
“A transition takes a couple weeks, especially seeing the velocity in this league. But most guys swing wood bats in practice or in cage work. It’s not totally foreign to them anymore like it may have been 10-20 years ago.”
Miller had yet to meet all his players, let alone hold a practice with the team as of Tuesday this week. So he wouldn’t speculate too much on what kind of team he expects to field this summer.
“It’s tough to say at this point if we will be a real offensive team or a defensive-minded club,” Miller said.
“We have been tracking these guys during their college seasons, so we’re not going to put a No.9 hitter into a cleanup spot, a catcher hitting leadoff, that type of thing.
“We’re more focused on having the kids to compete every day. This is a developmental league, so we want to be sure they are getting their work in. We want them to fight for a league championship and we want to be able to instill that belief by using blue-collar type players, those who play the game right.
“And this is a game of failure, and if you are having trouble, we are here to get you through those failures. We want players to have a good time playing in Port Angeles and be able to spread that good word of mouth back with their college teammates, their college coaches, so we can keep getting talent to come out here.”
Miller wouldn’t divulge who will take the mound and throw the first pitch in team history.
“We’re still mulling that over,” Miller said. “A lot of it goes on how did they get used during their college season. We will see where some guys are and make a decision.”
But he did have an idea what the team will wear this evening.
“The plan night one is our home [blue] pinstripe, all-white uniforms,” Miller said. “I don’t know what hat we will go with maybe the blue one with PA.”
