EVERETT — In their years of professional baseball, Mitch Canham and Brent Lillibridge enjoyed lives of adulation, money and a whole lot of fun. They were paid to play a game they loved and they were heroes to many.
These days their fame and finances are diminished, but the joy they get from what they do is better than ever.
Both retired, Canham and Lillibridge are partners in an organization called Base By Pros, which provides instruction and mentoring to young athletes. But their teaching involves more than simply showing someone how to hold a bat or use proper throwing techniques. Their goal is to encourage and facilitate higher achievement, both in sports and in other areas of life.
As Lillibridge explained, “Yes, we want to teach them how to play baseball. But our biggest focus is that we want to mentor kids and speak truth into them and guide them through what it takes to be successful. And that (message) is not just about sports.”
The idea, he went on, “was to use our platform (as ex-ballplayers) to create something that was going to change lives.”
Said Canham: “We’re an entity that cares for other people … and we want to focus on both the on- and off-the-field stuff.”
The 31-year-old Canham graduated from Lake Stevens High School in 2003 and spent four years at Oregon State University, where he played on national championship teams in 2006 and 2007. He was selected in the supplemental first round* of the 2007 draft and played nine minor-league seasons before retiring this year.
Lillibridge, who is 32, graduated from Mill Creek’s Jackson High School in 2002 and played three seasons at the University of Washington before being drafted in the fourth round in 2005. He played 10 pro seasons, including all or part of six seasons in the major leagues, before retiring after the 2014 season.
Though not close friends in their playing days, the two developed a recent kinship with their shared desire to work with youngsters. In addition, they agreed their coaching should go beyond baseball, and they were likewise motivated by a common Christian faith.
In sessions with kids, Canham said, the two do not engage in preaching. “But when I talk to them I’ll ask, ‘Do you go to church? Do you believe in God?’ … And if they ask me I’ll say, ‘This is why I do what I do.’ I do not shy away. I do not deny beliefs.”
Along with hands-on instruction, the youngsters can submit videos of themselves to be critiqued by past and present pro players. Also, there are conversations about topics not only relevant, but important to young people. At a recent session there was a discussion about fear, so Canham had everyone close their eyes and then asked those who were afraid of failure to raise their hands. Every hand went up, at which point “I told them to open their eyes and look around,” he said.
“I told them, ‘You’re not alone. We’re all in this together.’ … And we show them how to be fearless (in sports and in life).”
“We can instill confidence in them in the midst of teaching them how to play baseball,” Lillibridge said. “But it’s not just about us teaching them to play baseball. Because the energy, the work ethic, the goal setting and the vision can be put to the next thing they’re passionate about. Those attributes are going to shift to something else (beyond baseball).”
In his years as a pro, Lillibridge always regretted that he could not give more of his time to others. But in retirement, he said, “I get to pour 100 percent of my time into other people. So the reward for me is in finally doing what I was called to do. Because in the end, doing what God calls me to do is what really matters.”
Canham agrees. “One thing you’ll find about me,” he said, “I don’t care what’s in my bank account. Money is irrelevant to me. I was raised with very little money and I had a very happy life with little money, so money is not the reward. For me, a lot of the reward is knowing that I’m doing what God wants me to do. … He put me out there, and I’m going to do what He wants me to do.
“Serving others is what I’m good at … (and this work) is going to change lives. It’s something that should stick around for a long time because there’s passion behind it. It’s not a (lucrative) business, but it’s a meaningful business. And it’s a passion and a love.”
*—The original story included the incorrect round in which Canham was drafted.
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