Kevin Mitchell Punches Owner of Rival Team

Former National League most valuable player Kevin Mitchell punched the owner of a minor league baseball team in the face after an on-field brawl at Vacaville, Calif.

Mitchell, the 1989 MVP with the San Francisco Giants, plays for the Sonoma County Crushers of the independent Western Baseball League. He struck Bruce Portner, the owner of the Solano Steelheads, Tuesday night shortly after a fight between the teams had been broken up.

Portner was left with a black eye and said he plans to press assault charges against the 38-year-old player.

The fight started when Solano’s Jim Converse threw a pitch behind Mitchell in retaliation for a brushback pitch. Mitchell charged the mound and punched Converse in the mouth.

The dugouts emptied and the fight was broken up, but Mitchell and Sonoma first baseman Eric White began arguing with Steelhead fans.

Portner said he asked Sonoma players if they would help prevent a fight involving the two Crushers and the fans. Then, he said, Mitchell hit him.

Sonoma players and coaches refused comment. The Crushers also fought with fans Saturday in Yuma, Ariz.

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Cincinnati right-hander Elmer Dessens passed out while walking to the team bus and was treated for dehydration after he pitched seven innings of the Reds’ 2-1 loss to the New York Mets.

Dessens was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital to receive fluids, the Reds said. He was released from the hospital later Wednesday and flew home to Cincinnati.

Also, pitching coach Don Gullett returned to the team Wednesday after being hospitalized because of chest pains. He was released from New York Medical Center on Tuesday night, one night after experiencing tightness in his chest after a game against the Mets.

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Dave Nilsson, an all-star catcher with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1999, was released by the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese League after a season-long slump that saw him sent to the Japanese minors.

Nilsson, 30, asked the Dragons to cancel his one-year contract, and they immediately obliged, team spokesman Testsuo Ishiguro said.

“He felt his performance wasn’t as good as expected,” Ishiguro said.

Nilsson batted only .180 with one home run and eight runs batted in for the Dragons. He was sent to the minors in late April. Nilsson is still expected to play for Australia in the Olympics.

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The Houston Astros put second baseman Craig Biggio and pitcher Shane Reynolds on the 15-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Brian Powell and purchased the contract of infielder Tripp Cromer from triple-A New Orleans. . . . Philadelphia pitcher Paul Byrd underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be out for eight months. Byrd, 29, had a labral tear repaired in arthroscopic surgery. . . . The Brewers put right-handed reliever David Weathers on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained rib-cage muscle. To fill the roster spot, the Brewers recalled left-hander Rafael Roque from triple-A Indianapolis. . . . Luis Polonia agreed to a contract with the New York Yankees. Polonia was released Monday by the Detroit Tigers.

Toronto right-hander Joey Hamilton pitched seven innings in a rehabilitation start for triple-A Syracuse, striking out one and walking two. . . . Tampa Bay left-hander Tony Saunders, who fractured his pitching arm almost 14 months ago, pitched two scoreless innings in a minor league rehabilitation assignment. His fastball was consistently in the 84-85 mph range.

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The Class-A Charleston Alley Cats and Capital City Bombers will try to play a rare tripleheader today after a third consecutive day of rain forced postponement of Wednesday’s makeup doubleheader. . . . Ozzie Canseco, the twin brother of Jose, broke the Atlantic League’s season record for home runs, and he has plenty of time to raise the mark. Canseco hit his 33rd and record-breaking 34th homers to lead Newark past the Nashua Pride, 10-9. The Bears have 53 games to play in the independent league’s 140-game schedule.