BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJORS : Gwynn to Have Surgery on Knee

Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres, leading the National League with a .358 batting average, will undergo arthoscopic surgery Sunday on his left knee. Gwynn, who sat out his fifth consecutive game Friday night, is expected to be sidelined for at least 10 days. . . . Kevin Mitchell’s season ended when the Cincinnati Reds placed the slugger on the 60-day disabled list because of a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Mitchell, 31, will undergo surgery on his shoulder and foot. He finished the season with a .341 batting average in 93 games, with 19 homers and 64 runs batted in. . . . Pitcher Jose Bautista of the Chicago Cubs withdrew the appeal of his three-game suspension and was to begin serving it immediately, the National League said.

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The Major League Baseball Players Assn. said that baseball owners might not be able to start the season a day earlier next year without the union’s permission. Under a $255 million, six-year contract with ESPN that was approved Thursday, the cable network will have exclusive rights to the first game of each year, to be played a day before the season had been previously scheduled to start.