Mitchell Denies Rumor That He Sold Series Ring

Rumor has it that Padre third baseman Kevin Mitchell recently sold his World Series ring for $2,000.

Mitchell--acquired from the world champion New York Mets this winter--held up the ring Friday and said: “Here it is! How can they say I sold it?” He had received the ring in the mail from the Mets just that day.

Mitchell says the rumors circulating about him have become a distraction, to the point that they are affecting his play.

During spring training, Met Vice President Joe McIlvaine was quoted as saying that Mitchell had probably been a “negative influence” on pitcher Dwight Gooden, who had just checked into a drug rehabilitation center.

On Sunday, a column in the New York-area newspaper Newsday posed a question about whether Mitchell had agreed to sell his ring to Mead Chasky, a friend of Met catcher Gary Carter. Then the Cable News Network--which broadcasts a nightly “Rumor Mill” on a nightly sports segment--reported that a man had said Mitchell had sold him the ring for $2,000.

Mitchell said he had hardly slept in two days because of the rumor. He said he was exhausted during Thursday’s game against the Dodgers, when he struck out twice and hit into a bases-loaded double play.

“They (the Mets) are giving me all these problems,” he said. “This makes me look bad in front of my family out here. It’s like I needed some money desperate. People see that and say, ‘He sold his World Series ring for $2,000?’ It makes it seem like I’m on something (such as drugs) and needed something bad. . . .”

Larry Bowa, the Padre manager said he had noticed that Mitchell has looked tired and he was thinking about resting him for today’s game with the Dodgers.