With nine years of baseball under his belt, Mitchell Bell is ready to take on the province when he plays in the BC Summer Games from July 19-22.
It’s been one of his favourite pastimes since the 15-year-old was six, having been raised in a baseball-loving family.
“I grew up being a Toronto Blue Jays fan,” Bell said.
This season, Bell played for the Creston Valley Minor Baseball Association’s Creston Maroons, a Junior Babe Ruth team that played in a league with three Cranbrook and two Kimberley teams. The local team finished first during the regular season, but lost in the semifinal game of the league playoff tournament. Bell hit a grand slam home run in that game, which tied the score 6-6 (Kimberley eventually won 8-6).
“My strong point is hitting,” said Bell.
He earned his selection to the Kootenay Zone team at the same camp that saw him named to the Kootenay Hobos, a league all-star team with players from Cranbrook, Kimberley and Creston.
“It was kind of awesome when I found out about it,” he said.
Bell will have a small break after returning from the Summer Games before the Hobos head to Great Falls, Mont., for a tournament from July 27-29.
The timing couldn’t have been better — Bell attended the Toronto Blue Jays Honda Super Camp in Kelowna from July 9-11, brushing up his skills alongside former Blue Jays stars like Lloyd Moseby, Duane Ward, Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar and Rance Mulliniks.
The soon-to-be Grade 10 Prince Charles Secondary School student hopes to make a career out of the sport, and plans to attend a university where he can play baseball. For now, though, his sights are set on the BC Summer Games.
“I just hope I come back with a medal,” he said.
