Over the last decade, local youth baseball coach Randy Mitchell has excelled in two ways: winning championships and building relationships with his players. Perhaps no one embodies Mitchell’s incalculably positive impact on and off the field more than Maddox Morrison.
“Maddox is severely autistic,” Mitchell said about his 14-year-old player. “At the start of the season this year, he was scared to death of everything on the ballfield. He couldn’t throw, catch or hit the ball. In the [Knox Babe Ruth] championship game [against Rotary], he came up to bat and got on base. We got Maddox over to third base, and after another hit, he came home to score the final run to win the title."
Mitchell added: “Seeing the smile on his face when he crossed home plate made me want to cry. Maddox will remember that moment the rest of his life.”
Making memories together via the elixir of working hard and having fun has become as routine a 6-4-3 double play for Mitchell and his players. A detailed scouting report on each player’s needs is the key to Mitchell’s effective modus operandi.
“A lot of coaches put some of the players on the back burner, play them two innings and that’s it,” Mitchell said. “It’s easy to coach studs, but I thoroughly enjoy working with all the kids, especially some of the younger ones that need extra help. I want each player to reach the best of his ability.”
And whether it’s hosting baseball clinics during the winter, maintaining the field of the Knox Babe Ruth League or taking his team on camping trips, Mitchell is all in. To paraphrase former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, Mitchell’s “commitment to excellence” is reflected in the win-loss column as well.
In fact, since 2014, Mitchell has guided teams to eight championships (four in the Knox or Mount Vernon Babe Ruth Leagues, four in Fredericktown Little League).
“I run hard practices,” he said. “I push the kids to develop as players, but we also have fun and enjoy the game of baseball.”
Sharing America’s pastime with his sons, Nicholas (17) and Mason (15), has made Mitchell’s journey between the base paths particularly rewarding.
“Obviously, I love coaching my sons,” he said. “Baseball has always been a big part of our lives. They are pretty good at it, too, but I’m most proud of the fact that they really make an effort to help the younger players by taking them under their wing. It’s really cool seeing that as their dad, and it comes full circle for me as their coach.”
Away from the field, Mitchell, 38, is a carpenter who runs his own construction company. A Franklin Heights grad from Columbus, Mitchell played football and wrestled in high school. Nowadays, he’s an avid outdoorsman and committed dad.
“If I’m not at the ballfield, I’m in the woods, on the water or running my kids to all their stuff,” Mitchell said.
Baylee, Mitchell’s 8-year-old daughter, is even more active than her father and brothers, with interests varying from baseball, softball, wrestling, jiu jitsu, boxing, dance, ballet and cheerleading.
Present and past players constitute an extended family.
“When I see a kid out in public who played for me come up, say hello and give me a hug, that’s a great feeling," Mitchell said. "Life is not always rainbows and unicorns. Some of these kids don’t have the best parenting or there is other stuff going on in their lives. I am here to help them in any way I let them know 'Coach Randy' has your back.”
