Standing right at 4 feet 4 inches and 84 pounds, Paxton Rideaux is the newest Cane Cutters first base and pitching coach. 

And when he first got the call to join the staff, the 8-year-old couldn’t contain his excitement. 

“I was at my friend Tate’s house, and my mom called me and said ‘Mr. Richard asked you to be a baseball Cane Cutter coach,'”

Paxton says. “And I was like you want me to ask Sebastian (brother) to do it? And my mom said no, Mr. Richard wants you to do it.” 

His rules for his players…are quite simple. 

“Look at the pitcher, and run as hard as you can to the next base,” Paxton says.  

From Fabacher Field to Minute Maid Park, Paxton’s dream is to be a Major League Baseball coach one day for his favorite team, the Houston Astros.

“Well it looks like he’s gonna be a coach whenever he gets older because he’s telling them what to do and everything,” Sebastian says. 

“It’s gonna help him a lot, I think,” Paxton’s father Trey Rideaux says. “The whole shape, the way he’s shaped. He’s a little fiery with the attitude so I can see him being a coach.” 

“He’s been out with the kids in the bullpen,” Cane Cutters owner Richard Chalmers says. “That’s good. He’s learning a little bit. We got a little ways to go before we get to the Major League though.”

Paxton isn’t just coaching his players. He’s housing them too. His family is a part of the Cane Cutters host homes program that gives the players from out of town  a place to live during the summer.

“They get real connected with them,” Trey says. “They take them out there and do ground balls and hit with them so it’s just giving him a good feeling to be out here with some college players. They look up to them.”

“I have a lot of fun with them in the dugout and when I’m on first base,” Paxton says.