Capitola graduate Michael Mitchell of UC San Diego will pitch against Cal State Northridge on May 7 to wrap up the Tritons’ regular-season home schedule. (Derrick Tuscan – University of California, San Diego)

Michael Mitchell, who finished his college baseball career at the University of California, San Diego, has asked teams considering him in the July 9-11 MLB Inaugural Draft. I know (jokingly) how to pitch.

“Whatever team gets me, it’s going to be the hardest working person on the team,” said the Bellarmine preparatory graduate from Capitola.

Considering what Mitchell has accomplished this season overcoming a devastating career-threatening injury, that’s no exaggeration.

“It’s been great to have him back,” said Matt Harvey, pitching coach at the University of California, San Diego. “The schedule was not in his favor.”

Mitchell closed out his six-year college career on May 20 with the best performance of the 2023 season. The right-handed pitcher allowed only one earned run in five 2/3 innings. It was his longest appearance of the season and added seven strikeouts. He took just one batter and one walk to win the game against UC Riverside.

With the win, Mitchell appeared in 11 games, 10 of which were starts, and went 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA. He also struck out 42 batters in 44 1/3 innings and walked just seven while holding opponents to a .242 batting average.

If Mitchell had pitched more innings, his earned run average would easily rank among the NCAA Division I leaders, according to the NCAA website.

“He’s been the starter in almost every game,” Harvey said. “He just can’t pitch as many innings as a perfectly healthy regular starter.”

The word “perfectly healthy” is appropriate here. Mitchell’s numbers are all the more impressive considering he missed the entire 2022 season after tearing the ulnar ligament (UCL) in his right elbow two weeks before the season started.

“It’s a pretty serious injury for a pitcher,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell underwent pioneering surgery to repair a torn UCL in 1974, a reconstructive operation he calls the latest version of the medical procedure known as Tommy John surgery, after the major league pitcher who finished his career with 288 wins. received. instead of replacing his ligaments. If you injured a tendon in your wrist or knee, doctors simply inserted a rod into your elbow, Mitchell explained.

It wasn’t easy for Mitchell to sit out the entire season. Especially since he had already experienced the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The joy was compounded when doctors allowed him to start throwing on June 29, his birthday.

“Honestly, it was very exciting and a very nice birthday present,” Mitchell said. “It was the first time I threw a ball in months. It was the best birthday present I could ask for.”

Mitchell essentially had to learn to pitch again, and it was a process. Harvey said Mitchell needed to regain range of motion and mobility in his elbow before he could start throwing. It started with straightening his arm and keeping it straight on his team for long periods of time. It took him a month to master this.

Starting to throw, Mitchell could only throw the ball four to five feet at first.

“It was a very long and very tedious process,” Harvey said. “Once you have surgery, you’re going to do very little things over and over again.”

It was a grueling process, but Mitchell remained determined. Rather, it fueled his desire to return to the mound.

“I knew this could be the end of my career, so I used that as motivation to work hard, get back up, rehab, and go to work,” Mitchell said. “I would not choose another way.”

By the time the 2023 season began, Mitchell was in a bullpen session. Harvey’s estimated top speed reached 94 miles per hour, and his fastball stalled slightly, causing the UCSD coaching staff to have some concerns about his ability to throw in a game.

Still, Mitchell was primed in his first start of the season on February 19, and proved he could stand up to elite competition: against permanent powerhouse Tennessee (then second in Division I), Mitchell pitched three innings. , with four hitters striking out, no walks, and only two hits.

Since then, Mitchell has dominated the mound, keeping clean sheets in seven of 11 games. Of the 12 goals he allowed, five were not earned.

Mitchell’s efforts helped UC San Diego lead the Big West Conference, but he can’t pitch in the college baseball postseason. The Tritons are ineligible as they are transitioning from Division II to Division I.

Mitchell led UCSD to the Division II College World Series in UCSD’s final season before posting a 1.88 ERA in 28 2/3 innings during the Tritons’ 2019 season. He played primarily as a reliever in UCSD’s first Division I full season in 2021, but still went 4-1 with five saves.

Mitchell finished his UCSD career with a 10-2 record, a 1.98 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 127 innings.

“He’s going to end up being one of UC San Diego’s greatest pitchers ever,” Harvey said. “His contribution to the program was significant.”

An international business major, Mitchell plans to pursue a career in sales if he doesn’t hear from a major league team. But Harvey doesn’t think Mitchell should pursue a comeback career just yet.

“I don’t know if he’ll be drafted or signed as a free agent,” said the UCSD pitching coach. “But some team will give him a chance.”