Former Met of the Day: Kevin Mitchell (1984-1986)

Kevin Darnell Mitchell was born January 13, 1962 in San Diego, California. He was raised by his grandmother, and had a wild childhood. He ran with a San Diego street gang, and has three gunshot wounds to show for it. He was signed by the Mets & came up through the organization with many of the ’86 Champions, under Davey Johnson. He debuted as a 1984 September call up going 3-14 in seven games.

In his rookie year he played six different positions, earning the name "World" from Gary Carter. He started out hot in mid April getting nine hits in a two week stretch covering six games. In June he had 26 hits playing in 21 games, with a dozen RBIs. He continued contributing in the summer, hitting 5 HRs in July. He finished the year batting .277 with 12 HRs, 53 RBIs, 22 doubles & 51 runs scored, finishing third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Post Season: In the NLCS he played in two games and went 2-8. In the World Series during the infamous final inning of Game 6, Mitchell was in the clubhouse making plane reservations for San Diego. He was called to pinch hit for Rick Aguilera with 2 outs. Mitchell, was out of his uniform, & had to dress quickly to get to bat. He singled and would score the tying run, when Bob Stanley threw a wild pitch to Mookie Wilson. Overall Mitchell appeared in five Series games going 2-8, scoring that big run.

After the 1986 season, he was traded to the Padres with Stan Jefferson and Shawn Abner in exchange for Kevin McReynolds. Then in July, he was traded to the Giants.

In San Francisco, coach Dusty Baker took a special liking for Mitchell and worked on his hitting. He had a good 1988; 19 HRs 80 RBIs & .251 average. Then the next year he won the MVP Award, leading the league in HRs (47) RBIs (125) while batting .291. That season he also switched positions to playing full time third base. He also made the first of two consecutive All Star appearances. The Giants went to the all Bay Area World Series getting swept by Oakland. In the NLCS he hit .353 with 2 HRs and seven RBIs.In the World Series he hit 1 HR and batted .294.

By 1992 he was traded to the Mariners and arrived at spring training 30 pounds overweight. He only played in 99 games hitting .286, as his power numbers fell to 9 HRs & 67 RBIs. After one season he was sent to the Reds, and had a good 1994, batting .326 with 30 HRs and 77 RBIs in the strike-shortened season. He opted to play in Japan the following year, becoming the highest-paid player in Japanese history.

He came back to the States and played with four teams,in two seasons, hitting only 14 HRs. He finished his playing career in 1998. In his 13 year career with eight teams, Mitchell batted .284, with 234 HRs, 760 RBIs, 224 doubles, and 25 triples in 1223 games.

Drama: Mitchell fought with Daryl Strawberry during a Tidewater game in 1982. Dwight Gooden accused him of holding him captive in a rage, after Mitchell had decapitated his girlfriend’s cat. He denied the charges. In 1998 he was arrested for assaulting his father during an argument. He was arrested again in 2000 when he punched an opposing teams owner in the mouth in the Independent League.

Mitchell got his life back on track and now lives in San Diego. He was on hand for the 20th anniversary festivities at Shea Stadium honoring the 1986 team.