Mitchell Finds Himself at End of Long Line of Outfielders

Forgotten . . . left out . . . dumped by the wayside.

Keith Mitchell says he can’t clear his mind of such thoughts and enjoy the game of baseball these days--not playing right field for the Richmond Braves.

Hurt . . . confused . . . angry . . . discouraged.

Mitchell has felt all those emotions on many hitless nights when triple-A pitchers have worked him high, low, inside, outside--afraid to challenge him.

“If I see a good pitch, it’s going to be outside,” said Mitchell, 22, who had been one of the Atlanta Braves’ top outfield prospects since he was drafted out of Lincoln High in the fourth round in 1987. “I’ve got almost as many walks as hits. Yesterday I walked three times. If I hit the ball hard one time, I won’t see the same pitch again in the game.”

If Mitchell hasn’t fallen off a cliff, emotionally, he has at least reached the lowest point of his career.

What makes it most difficult is that it has come right on the heels of his highest point. There was no soft transition.

Last year, Mitchell rocketed to the big leagues from double-A Greenville (S.C.). He joined the Braves in the middle of perhaps the most exciting season in franchise history, as the team went from perennial losers to the National League champions. They lost to the Minnesota Twins in seven games in the World Series.

Mitchell played 48 games with the Braves during the season and had five plate appearances in the postseason.

This spring, he was sent back to the minors. Now Mitchell is concerned he’ll languish there if he isn’t picked up by another organization.

“I can even watch the Atlanta games on TV anymore,” he said. “I got to share in that experience last year. It leaves me feeling left out. It really hurts. There’s a lot of guys in my corner up there, but they can’t do anything about it.

“Brian Hunter calls me once in a while to see how I’m doing, and he lets me know what’s going on.”

Mitchell has become an odd man out in a numbers game. The Braves have too many talented outfielders, with Dave Justice, Deion Sanders, Ron Gant, Otis Nixon and Lonnie Smith in Atlanta. Tommy Gregg has also been demoted to Richmond. The Braves appear to be grooming double-A outfielder Mike Kelly for the future. Hunter, who moves between first base and the outfield, has surfaced in trade rumors.

Mitchell’s concern for his future has affected his play. Through Tuesday, he was hitting a career-low .225, with only 10 extra base hits and 23 RBIs in 204 at-bats. After hitting .319 in April, Mitchell hit a five-for-43 skid and batted .140 in May.

In 66 at-bats in Atlanta last year, he hit .318.

“I’ve lost my groove,” he said. “I got off to a bad start. In spring training with Atlanta, I got caught up in that wondering stage, knowing I was playing behind a bunch of millionaires.

“I know you’ve got to leave those kind of thoughts behind you coming to the ballpark. But all I heard in the minors is you have to prove yourself once you get up there. I thought I did. But if I do put up the numbers now, it won’t make no difference.

“I can bat .400 this year, and I won’t be around in Atlanta. We’re just loaded with outstanding, great athletes. I thank everybody in the Atlanta for bringing me up there and giving me the chance to contribute. I was real happy. They didn’t have to do that, giving me the opportunity to be in the World Series.

“But I’d rather see myself in a different uniform than to be back at Richmond. It’s kind of hard to be back down here.”

Mitchell said he never requested a trade but had hoped the Braves would have moved him in the off-season. Now he suspects he won’t be protected by Atlanta after the 1992 season.

The original Marlin: When right-handed pitcher John Lynch of Solana Beach took the mound at Ainsworth Field in Erie, Pa., on June 15, he became first starting pitcher in the history of the Florida Marlin organization.

Lynch, 20, who was the expansion team’s No. 2 choice in the June free-agent draft, lasted only 2 1/3 innings in what was the season opener for the Class-A Erie Sailors in the New York-Penn League. The Sailors, playing in front of a capacity 4,067 fans, lost, 6-5, in 13 innings to the Jamestown Expos.

Lynch allowed two hits, one unearned run, walked two and struck out three before leaving the game because he was tired. But Florida executives appear confident Lynch will be more than the answer to a Marlin trivia question.

“He’s such an outstanding athlete . . . hopefully we’ll have him a long time,” said Dan Lunetta, Marlin director of minor league administration. “He has a great deal of raw ability.”

Lynch might be better known as a hard-hitting free safety on the Stanford football team or a slugging outfielder who reportedly hit the longest home run in history at rival California last season--a 500-foot blast that shattered a window on the eighth story of a classroom building beyond left field.

The Marlins drafted him as a pitcher, despite his 7.50 earned-run average in only eight innings of short relief last season. They believe in his 93 m.p.h. fastball and have given Lynch a signing bonus of nearly $100,000. They will also let him return to Stanford to play his senior year under Bill Walsh. Lynch is touted as one of the Pacific 10’s top defensive backs.

“To be frank, I gave up a lot of money to get that experience,” Lynch said. “There’s a clause in my contract that says if I don’t go back, I’ll get a lot more (money). I don’t want to pass-up the chance to be part of football, then have to look back on that last year and have any regrets about not playing. It’s going to be a great experience and we’ve got a chance to do some great things.”

He’ll pitch only six weeks for Erie then return to Palo Alto July 30. But Lynch says he has no plans to be the next Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders or Brian Jordan--playing both baseball and football professionally.

“I discovered in college you can do both; it’s do-able,” he said. “But I also discovered you can never really develop in either sport that way. The Marlins kind of helped me make the decision to play baseball when they drafted me so high.”

So, with a fresh arm but rusty mechanics, Lynch said he is slowly pacing himself back into a starting pitcher’s role--something he hasn’t had since his days at Torrey Pines High. Still, he thought he’d last more than 2 1/3 in his debut.

“My goal was three innings,” he said, “and by the second, I was pooped.”

Benji bolts: San Diego State right-handed reliever Benji Grigsby has apparently refused a contract offer by the Oakland A’s and is departing for Alaska today to play semipro ball.

“The Oakland A’s have made an offer which is not comparable to the market values and in signings that have taken place,” said Alan Meersand, Grigsby’s agent.

Grigsby, who was the No. 20 pick in the first round by Oakland, will instead play for the Kenai Peninsula Oilers, Meersand said.