2 Women Say Garvey Got Them Pregnant; He Marries a Third

Two women became pregnant while involved with Steve Garvey, the former All-Star first baseman of the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, who recently married a third woman, a TV station reported.

A San Diego woman, who declined to be interviewed on camera, said she recently gave birth to Garvey’s child, according to a report by KNSD-TV, an NBC affiliate.

The other woman alleging that she is pregnant with Garvey’s child is Rebecka Mendenhall, a producer for Atlanta-based Cable News Network. She was engaged to Garvey in the last year.

In a videotaped interview shown Wednesday night by KNSD and also by NBC-owned KNBC in Los Angeles, Garvey, who last Saturday married a third woman, did not deny the allegations and promised to assume responsibility for any offspring proven to be his. He said his new wife, interior decorator Candace Thomas, 30, of Palos Verdes, knew all about the two situations.

“I’ll live up to my moral obligations, which I feel strongly about because I’m a Christian,” Garvey said.

Garvey said his new wife supported his decision to take responsibility for any children he fathered while single.

When asked about birth control, Garvey said: “I’d like to think that with any relationship, one of the two people assume responsibility for birth control and . . . one will say, ‘I’ll be responsible.’

“In both cases, I was led to believe that I wasn’t responsible for birth control.”

Garvey, 40, was a 10-time All-Star first baseman when he retired in January 1988 after 17 years in the big leagues--12 with the Dodgers and the last five with the Padres.

His first wife, Cyndi, became a Los Angeles television talk-show hostess while they were married, and moved to New York City after their divorce.