John Kyle Mitchell (born August 11, 1965) is an American former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched in parts of five

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) seasons (–) for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Boating accident

Mitchell was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the

1983 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1983 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Compensation picks Other notable players *Bill Swift, 2nd round, 29th overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not ...

. On October 30, , after completing his first professional season with the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

Elmira Pioneers The Elmira Pioneers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Elmira, New York. They have been affiliated with many major league teams throughout their history. The current Elmira Pioneers play as members of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseb ...

, Mitchell and two fellow Red Sox farmhands, Anthony Latham and Scott Skripko, were

deep-sea fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

off the coast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

when their boat capsized. Boat owner Mark Zastrowmy and Latham drowned. Skripko and Mitchell survived over twenty hours in the water by clinging to debris; Skripko held onto a cooler for 20 hours and Mitchell a bucket for 22 hours.

Professional career

Ojeda trade

After two more seasons with the Red sox organization, Mitchell was traded to the Mets along with

Bob Ojeda Robert Michael Ojeda (born December 17, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member ...

Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...

and Chris Bayer for

Calvin Schiraldi Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and Ga ...

, John Christensen,

Wes Gardner Wesley Brian Gardner (born April 29, 1961) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who was drafted by the New York Mets in the 22nd round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft, out of the University of Central Arkansas. New York Mets Gardner ...

and

La Schelle Tarver La Schelle Tarver (born January 30, 1959) is a former backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Listed at 5' 11", 165 lb., he batted and threw left-handed. Early years Tarver was born in ...

on November 15, . Mitchell went 12–9 with a 3.39

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in his first season with the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, and received a call-up to the MLB that September. His MLB debut came on September 8, , against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.1989 season, Mitchell and Joaquin Contreras were traded to the

for Cesar Mejia and Keith Hughes. In Baltimore, Mitchell set his career high in wins with six, but his ERA was a sub-par 4.64. He never again pitched in the majors.

Later minor league career

Mitchell signed with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

organization in , but appeared in just two games for the

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calgary ...

before suffering a season-ending injury. He sat out the entire

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

, then started with the independent

Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major L ...

. He pitched well enough to earn another chance from the Red Sox. He moved on to the Texas Rangers organization in , then spent with the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

in the

farm system. After being let go by the Expos, he pitched three seasons in the independent leagues before retiring in . Overall, Mitchell went 97–82 with a 3.34 ERA as a minor leaguer.

Career MLB statistics

Personal life

Mitchell lives in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where he works for a company that makes municipal castings. He is married with four children. His middle child, Johnny Latham Mitchell is named in memory of his fallen teammate. His brother is former Red Sox pitcher Charlie Mitchell.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John 1965 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Tennessee Calgary Cannons players Columbia Mules players Elmira Pioneers players Major League Baseball pitchers New Britain Red Sox players New York Mets players Newark Bears players Oklahoma City 89ers players Ottawa Lynx players People from Dickson, Tennessee Rochester Red Wings players Sioux Falls Canaries players Tidewater Tides players Winter Haven Red Sox players Survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents