Scott Miller graduated from Hillsdale College in 1985.
Courtesy |  Hillsdale College Virtue and Valor Blog

During his junior year at Hillsdale College, Scott Miller ’85 served as sports editor for The Collegian. Over the next 30 years, he would go on to write baseball for multiple national networks and cover 29 of the last 30 World Series.

After releasing his third baseball book, “Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter and Always Will,” in May, Miller died from cancer June 21.

Miller’s book was the culmination of a lifelong love for baseball and a successful career as an MLB journalist that began in the office of the Hillsdale Collegian. He became editor-in-chief of the newspaper in the spring semester of his junior year after serving as sports editor. He also served as the interim sports editor of the Hillsdale Daily News during his senior year.

Hillsdale classmate and longtime friend Kevin Shinkle ’87, who was the Collegian sports editor after Miller became editor-in-chief in fall 1985, said that while Miller was known for baseball writing, he will be remembered for much more.

“When he died, people talked about what a good baseball writer he was, but far more people talked about what a great person he was,” Shinkle said.

Shinkle said he first met Miller as a prospective student on a trip to Hillsdale for a scholarship interview in early 1983. During the drive from the airport to Hillsdale, Miller and Shinkle bonded over sports and quickly became friends.

“People always say nice things about somebody who has died,” Shinkle said. “With Scott Miller, it was all true. He was one of the nicest, most gracious guys I’ve ever had in my stable of friends.”

Shinkle said he met with Miller again after his freshman orientation in fall 1983. Miller, who was then the Collegian sports editor, invited Shinkle to write for The Collegian.

“He said, ‘Why don’t you cover the football team?’ I was taken aback because the football team was a national powerhouse then,” Shinkle said. “So, I started doing that, and Scott was encouraging, he was fun, and he was somebody I looked up to. And he became a mentor, but he also became a really close friend.”

After graduating, Miller moved to Southern California, where he began covering high school and college sports, including San Diego State University football. In 1994, Miller got a job as the Minnesota Twins beat writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He would cover the Twins for the next six seasons.

Miller then moved on to national baseball coverage, spending 14 years with the CBS Sports website and 11 years as an analyst on MLB Network radio, where he also covered the San Diego Padres for Fox Sports San Diego.

As a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Miller also cast 26 ballots for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

There will be a celebration of life in honor of Miller at Petco Park on Nov. 9.

Throughout his career, Miller gained respect as a knowledgeable baseball writer. According to Dr. Dan Eby ’85, an orthopedic surgeon who was Miller’s best friend since high school, Miller was such an authority on Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani, that he was even breaking stories in Japan.

Shinkle said Miller’s book is some of his finest work.

“The book embodies Scott Miller’s career,” Shinkle said. “It’s very well-reported, it tells great stories, it opens up the world of baseball to anybody, whether you are a hardcore fan or a newer fan. It has an expertise, but also a relatability that I find great.”

In his book, Miller highlights great managers such as Terry Francona, who managed the 2004 Boston Red Sox to their first World Series win in 86 years, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who led his team to World Series wins in 2020 and 2024.

Shinkle said Miller built a friendship with Roberts while writing his book. During the 2025 MLB All-Star game, Roberts paid tribute to Miller during the Stand Up to Cancer in-stadium moment.

“Everybody in the crowd and all the players and coaches wrote the name of somebody who had cancer on a card,” Shinkle said. “And Dave Roberts had written Scott Miller’s name on his card. That’s a great tribute.”

Eby said the book showcases not only Miller’s ability as a writer, but also his character as a person.

“The book stands for itself in talking about the changes in baseball and the changes in management style. There is good commentary on why managers are useful,” Eby said. “I think that book also shows how he could bring people together. He was very good at relationships.”

Eby said Miller conducted extensive research while writing his book.

“The book was a labor of love,” Eby said. “He had to interview an awful lot of people, some of whom he was friends with and some of whom he became friends with.”

Shinkle said he and Miller’s shared fandom for the Tigers contributed to their friendship.

“Scott took me to my very first game at Tiger Stadium in 1983,” Shinkle said. “I remember the Tigers scored 10 runs in the first inning, and Scott was just so excited to be able to take me to that Tigers game because he knew that I loved baseball, too.”

Shinkle said sports journalism was Miller’s lifelong passion.

“All he ever wanted to do, from the time he was probably 12 years old, was to become a baseball writer,” Shinkle said. “He had this deep, abiding passion for the Detroit Tigers and for baseball.”

Jill Simmons ’85 became friends with Miller during their freshman year.

“We had a group of friends between Olds and Simpson and we just hung out a lot,” Simmons said. “We pranked each other and just had fun.”

After graduating, Simmons said she and Miller remained close friends.

When Simmons’s grandmother was sick with cancer, Miller, who lived 400 miles away, helped her travel from Tucson, Arizona, to San Diego, California. One day, Simmons said Miller took them out to the San Diego Zoo.

“Mils was so amazing,” Simmons said. “He pushed my grandmother’s wheelchair the whole day. It was his job.”

Afterward, Miller took them to a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.

“He got her a hat and a pennant,” Simmons said. “She adored him. He was just so generous and so kind.”