Scott Miller, a former Twins beat reporter for the Pioneer Press who went on to become one of the nation’s pre-eminent baseball writers, died Saturday after a long illness. He was 62.

Miller came to Minnesota from the Los Angeles Times. He covered the Twins for six seasons, 1994-99, before leaving St. Paul to become the national baseball reporter for CBS Sports’ website.

“Heartbroken to share: Baseball lost a giant,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, a longtime friend, posted on X. “Scott Miller was a brilliant writer and an even better human.”

Through the years, Miller’s byline appeared in the New York Times and Bleacher Report. He was a frequent contributor to MLB Radio on satellite, and for several years he made regular appearances on television broadcasts for the San Diego Padres.

Miller also wrote two books about baseball: “Ninety Percent Mental” and “Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter and Always Will.”