Donovan Mitchell is getting a new assignment in Cleveland this week, and it has nothing to do with the Cavaliers’ backcourt.
The seven-time All-Star is expected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field, according to reports. It gives Mitchell a spot in the middle of Cleveland’s October baseball scene as the Guardians face the Tampa Bay Rays with a World Series berth still in play.
It will also be his first ceremonial first pitch in Cleveland, a small but fitting moment for a player who has quickly become part of the city’s sports fabric. Mitchell recently signed a four-year contract extension to stay with the Cavaliers, locking in more prime years with the franchise and the fan base that has embraced him since his arrival in 2022.
And this won’t be some random photo-op from a player with no feel for the game.
Before he became one of the NBA’s most explosive guards, Mitchell had a real baseball background. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., spent seven seasons in the minors with the Houston Astros organization before moving into the New York Mets’ system, where he has worked in several roles, including minor league manager and now director of player relations. Mitchell grew up around the sport, spending time at spring training and learning from players such as David Wright, Jose Reyes and Pedro Martinez.
He was also a two-sport standout in high school, working as a pitcher and shortstop while his basketball stock kept rising. Mitchell said he once touched 86 mph on the radar gun during his sophomore year, which ended up being his final season on the diamond.
A collision while chasing a pop-up changed the path. Mitchell ran into his catcher, who suffered a broken jaw, and Mitchell broke his wrist in the same play. That injury ended his baseball season and pushed him to take a longer look at where his best future lay.
Basketball won the debate. Mitchell transferred to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, put more of his focus on the hardwood and watched his Division I scholarship offers jump from three to 26.
The rest, as they say, became NBA history.
He went 13th overall in the 2017 draft, became a seven-time All-Star and a three-time All-NBA selection, and emerged as one of the league’s best scorers. Cleveland traded for him in 2022, and he has helped turn the Cavaliers into an Eastern Conference contender.
Still, baseball never really left his life.
Mitchell has shown up at minor league parks, taken batting practice at Citi Field and taken part in celebrity softball events. He’s even talked about the possibility of returning to the game after his basketball career, including in a recent episode of Cousins with Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, where he discussed the idea with McGrady. Michael Jordan’s minor league baseball stint in 1994 also came up in that conversation, and Mitchell has said before - jokingly or not - that he could see himself on a diamond after his time on the hardwood ends.
For now, though, Cleveland will settle for a ceremonial pitch.
The timing of the announcement lines up neatly with Mitchell’s current reality, arriving roughly an hour before the Cavaliers’ final preseason game in Orlando and just as he gets ready for another NBA season. Cleveland opens its season against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 22.
Mitchell has already shown plenty of support for the city’s baseball team. During a recent Cavaliers preseason game, he was seen wearing Jo Adell’s Guardians jersey on the bench.
Adell later returned the favor by showing up at Progressive Field for Game 5 of the ALDS wearing Mitchell’s Cavaliers jersey. Mitchell came to that winner-take-all game wearing José Ramírez’s jersey as Cleveland kept its postseason run alive.
So Thursday’s first pitch figures to feel like more than a ceremonial nod. It’s another small sign of how much Mitchell has woven himself into Cleveland’s sports scene.
He may not be dialing it up to 86 mph anymore, but if he can get one over the plate, the city will have another reason to cheer before the Guardians even begin the game.
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