 Mitchell was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 1983 Major League Baseball draft.On October 30, , after completing his first professional season with the New York–Penn League's Elmira Pioneers, Mitchell and two fellow Red Sox farmhands, Anthony Latham and Scott Skripko, were deep-sea fishing off the coast of Florida when their boat capsized.Boat owner Mark Zastrowmy and Latham drowned.