Parris Mitchell

Parris Mitchell

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 165 lb.

• Born August 9, 1961 in East Fremantle, Western Australia Australia

Biographical Information

Parris Mitchell was an Olympic pitcher.

Mitchell was 0-1 with a save and a 1.46 ERA for the Australian national team in the 1988 Olympics. He was 5th in the Seoul Olympics in ERA behind James Figueroa, Ben McDonald, Tetsuya Shiozaki and Jesus Feliciano. When the Australian Baseball League was formed in 1989-1990, the 28-year-old appeared for the Perth Heat. He went 5-2 with three saves, a 4.21 ERA and .224 opponent average, striking out 52 in 47 innings. In 1990-1991, the right-hander was 2-3 with a save and a 3.76 ERA for Perth. He excelled in the postseason, allowing three hits and no runs in six innings. He won game one against the regular-season champion Daikyo Dolphins. In game two, he came in out of the bullpen with a 5-4 lead, the bases loaded and one out in the 8th. In that clutch situation, Mitchell put on a show, striking out Paul Gorman ant Mat Buckley to end the inning. Then, in the 9th, he whiffed Peter Hartas, Ian Burns and Ron Johnson in order to wrap up the title. He lost the postseason MVP to Graeme Lloyd. He was on Australia's team for the 1991 Asian Championship, holding South Korea to one run in seven in the Bronze Medal Game loss to Min-tae Chung.

In the 1991-1992 ABL, Mitchell was 2-1 with a 1.19 ERA and 9 hits in 22 2/3 innings. He had a 2-1, 5.40 record in 1992-1993. He was with Australia in the 1993 Asian Championship. He was roughed up in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup, allowing 11 hits in 21 at-bats and 7 runs in 3 2/3 IP; his ERA was over double the next-worst Australian hurler, Simon Sheldon-Collins. He and fellow Aussie Richard Vagg spent 1993 in the Japanese industrial leagues, both playing for Abekigyo. In 1993-1994, Mitchell was 3-1 with a 3.50 ERA. He went 1-2 with a save and a 4.63 ERA in 1994-1995 to end his career.

Overall, Mitchell had gone 15-10 with 5 saves and a 3.80 ERA in 54 Australian Baseball League games, striking out 158 in just over 170 innings.

Sources

• Flintoff & Dunn Australian Baseball Almanac
• Defunct IBAF site
• Australian Baseball Federation
• 9/24/1991 Sydney Morning Herald
• Correspondence with Shane Tonkin