Padres Arrested for Propositions : Baseball: Scott Sanders and Derek Bell charged with misdemeanor of patronizing a prostitute in New York.

Two San Diego Padre players were arrested Tuesday for allegedly propositioning undercover policewomen on a Manhattan street corner often frequented by prostitutes.

Pitcher Scott Sanders and outfielder Derek Bell were arrested around 2 a.m. EDT on a misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute. The arrests came 18 hours before they were due at Shea Stadium to play the New York Mets.

Sanders and Bell, who was wearing the World Series championship ring he won with the Toronto Blue Jays, appeared “shocked and bewildered,” Capt. Michael O’Neill of the Public Morals Unit said.

“They told me they were baseball players and I told them they were under arrest,” O’Neill said.

The men pleaded innocent Tuesday evening to soliciting a prostitute. They turned down a deal in which they would have had to plead guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, do one day of community service, spend a day in a health seminar and pay $45 in fees and fines.

They were released on their own recognizance and are due back in court June 17.

The players were expected in uniform at Tuesday night’s game, said Padre spokesman Jim Ferguson. Sanders had been listed as the probable starting pitcher, but the team had decided before the arrest to start Wally Whitehurst instead.

“The ballclub is investigating the situation to see what all is involved,” Ferguson said.

Padre Manager Jim Riggleman said he learned about the arrests when he was called in the middle of the night by O’Neill.

“It’s a tough way to learn a lesson,” Riggleman said. “Sanders was going to pitch in the ball game. If nothing else he should have used better judgment.”