Kevin Mitchell (baseball)
| Kevin Mitchell | |||
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| Left fielder | |||
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Born: January 13, 1962 San Diego, California |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 4, 1984, for the New York Mets | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 3, 1998, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .284 | ||
| Home runs | 234 | ||
| Runs batted in | 760 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Kevin Darnell Mitchell (born January 13, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. A two-time All-Star and the 1989 NL MVP, he became widely known not only for his occasional brilliance on the field, but also for his unpredictable and sometimes volatile behavior off the field.
Mitchell was born and raised in San Diego. He attended Clairemont High School.
In Amazin', Peter Golenbock's oral history of the New York Mets, Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter said he gave Mitchell the nickname "World" for his ability to play in the infield and outfield. Carter spoke fondly of Mitchell's talents.
An urban legend involving Mitchell holds that during the Mets' championship run in 1986, during an argument with his then live-in girlfriend, Mitchell decapitated her cat. The story first came to light in Dwight Gooden's autobiography, Heat. Gooden claimed that an enraged Mitchell held him hostage during the alleged cat incident. Mitchell responded to Gooden's accusations by accusing Gooden of fabricating the stories in an attempt to divert attention away from Gooden's personal problems.
In the famous tenth inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, after Wally Backman and Keith Hernandez had been retired for the first two outs, he was called to pinch hit for reliever Rick Aguilera after Gary Carter, the next hitter after Hernandez, singled. Mitchell, who had already gotten out of his uniform and had on his regular clothes, hurriedly put his uniform back on without his protective cup and went to the plate and singled. He would eventually score the tying run on Bob Stanley's wild pitch to Mookie Wilson.
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