Garrett Mitchell of Brewers Balances Baseball and Type 1 Diabetes

PHOENIX — The fastest man in the major leagues sounded almost embarrassed. Yes, Garrett Mitchell, a rookie center fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, had a home-to-first sprint speed of 4.01 seconds last season. Yes, that was the fastest time of more than 500 players tracked by Major League Baseball’s Statcast system.

No, Mitchell was not impressed.

“To me, that wasn’t that fast,” Mitchell said while standing by his locker at the Brewers’ complex before a game last week. “My fastest time that I’ve ever had, home to first, was like 3.89 or 3.91. So when people say, ‘Hey, you have the fastest time,’ I’m like, ‘Well, that was kind of slow. I could be a lot faster than that.’”

As M.L.B. tries to encourage speed this season, with bigger bases and limits on pickoff throws, players like Mitchell are poised to make an impact. The major league leader in stolen bases last season was Miami’s Jon Berti, with 41, far from the record of 130, set by the Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson for Oakland in 1982.

Henderson set the mark in Milwaukee that summer and got a ride to the postgame news conference from John Counsell, who worked for the Brewers. John’s 12-year-old son, Craig, hopped onto the golf cart with Henderson. Craig Counsell, now the Brewers’ manager, doubts he will recreate that moment with Mitchell — but he’s eager for a running revival.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/sports/baseball/garrett-mitchell-brewers.html