Mitch Canham

From BR Bullpen

Mitchell Canham

BR Minors page

Biographical information[edit]

090306-N-3271W-040.jpg

Mitch Canham was a suplemental first-round draft pick in the 2007 amateur draft as he was trying to lead his team to a second national title.

Canham went 1 for 6 as a college freshman at Oregon State University in 2004. In 2005, Mitch hit .325/.423/.531. The next year, he slipped to to .299/.390/.496 in 64 games but hit .333 in the 2006 College World Series to help Oregon State overcome the University of North Carolina. The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 41st round of the 2006 amateur draft; he opted to return to college.

That year, he performed a rap concert for the Special Olympics. Canham was known for rapping throughout his college career, as well as his volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity. He hit .300/.388/.473 in 28 games for the Falmouth Commodores and Baseball America rated him as the #13 prospect in the Cape Cod League, ahead of top-10 draft pick Matt LaPorta. Canham finished sixth in the league in batting average and was fourth in slugging.

He batted .321 and slugged .525 with 10 HR and 57 RBI for OSU through June 23rd and also had the best GPA on the team. He was picked by the San Diego Padres with the 57th pick of the 2007 amateur draft, their third first-round choice that year. He was a third-team All-American according to Collegiate Baseball. Canham helped Oregon State to a second consecutive national title as they won the 2007 College World Series.

Canham in 2009 catching a ceremonial pitch from a Navy sailor.

Canham was signed by scout Josh Boyd and debuted professionally with the Eugene Emeralds on July 7, going 1 for 3 with a walk against the Vancouver Canadians. He was hitting .353/.450/.500 after his first 8 games in the pros and finished the season with a .276 average for the Emeralds and Lake Elsinore Storm, with whom he spent two games. With the Storm in 2008 he hit .285 and with the San Antonio Missions in 2009 he hit .263. He began the 2010 season with the Missions.

Canham became a minor league manager with the Clinton LumberKings in 2016 and Modesto Nuts in 2017.

Canham was named head coach at Oregon State University in June 2019.


Sources: Cape Cod League stats, 2005-2007 Baseball Almanacs, The Baseball Cube, Oregon State website, Minorleaguebaseball.com article on Canham OSU bio

Year-By-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs Notes
2016 Clinton LumberKings Midwest League 86-54 1st Seattle Mariners Lost League Finals
2017 Modesto Nuts California League 74-66 3rd Seattle Mariners League Champs
2018 Modesto Nuts California League 62-78 7th Seattle Mariners
2019 Arkansas Travelers Texas League 42-21 -- Seattle Mariners replaced by Kyle Wilson and
Peter Woodworth on June 13

Related Sites[edit]