Kevin Mitchell was born in San Diego and grew up in a tumultuous area of the city. Being raised by his grandmother from a young age, he preferred football and boxing, but grandma knew best and directed him to the diamond, even taking him to many of his Little League games.
After attending Clairemont High School a friend took him to a New York Mets sponsored tryout in his hometown of San Diego where he excelled, teeing off on Major League caliber pitching.
The Mets signed him to a minor league free agent deal where he rapidly ascended through the organization and made this debut for the team in 1986. He was a valuable piece of the Mets World Series championship team that season, contributing throughout the playoffs and coming up clutch in Game 6 of the Fall Classic.
He was known for his powerful bat but certain highlights throughout his career made him memorable for what he did in the field, which included playing every position but pitcher and catcher during his time in the majors.
His career year came in 1989 when he won National League MVP honors by leading the league in home runs with 47 and driving in 125. He sparked the Giants playoff run and eventual World Series berth.
Mitchell played 13 big league seasons for the Mets, Padres, Giants, Mariners, Reds, Red Sox, Indians and A’s. After battling through various injuries that robbed him of much of the shine of his playing prime, he retired after the 1998 season. In his career, he piled up 1,000 hits, nearly 250 homers and over 700 RBIs.
These days he teaches hitting to younger kids.
In this recent Card Back interview, Mitchell talks about some of what was written on the reverse side of some of the cards issued during his career, including his aggressive mentality at the plate, the catch everyone asks him about, his magical MVP season and more.
