Miles Tice Mikolas (born August 23, 1988), nicknamed “Lizard King”, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
He previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, as well as the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was an All-Star in 2018, led the National League in wins that season, and finished sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting that year.
On February 26, 2019, Mikolas and the Cardinals agreed on a four-year extension worth $68 million. He finished the 2019 regular season with a 9–14 record and a 4.16 ERA, striking out 144 over 184 innings.
He was named St. Louis’ Game 1 starter for the 2019 National League Division Series. He missed the entire 2020 season due to undergoing surgery to repair a flexor tendon in his right arm.
On August 20, 2021, Mikolas was activated off of the 60-day injured list after missing the past 75 games with a right forearm strain.
Mikolas got the nickname “Lizard King” when, on a bet, he ate a lizard in the bullpen during a 2011 Arizona Fall League game. The video was posted to YouTube.
Mikolas is married to Lauren Mikolas, who was an elementary school teacher, UFC ring girl, and certified wellness coach who became a social media celebrity in Japan with her lifestyle blog. Their first child, a daughter, was born in March 2017, and his wife gave birth to twins, a son and a daughter, in July 2018