The Kevin Mitchell cat rumor has surfaced again.
During a HuffPost Live interview Tuesday, Darryl Strawberry was asked to speak about the story of Mitchell allegedly decapitating a cat.
As legend goes (a.k.a. what Dwight Gooden wrote in his 1999 autobiography "Heat"), Mitchell was "drunk and angry" with his girlfriend so he held her, Gooden and a third person hostage with a 12-inch knife. Then, according to Gooden's book, Mitchell beheaded his girlfriend's cat with one blow.
Mitchell, the 1989 NL MVP with the Giants, admits he was a bad influence on Strawberry and Gooden, his teammates on the 1986 world champion Mets. Strawberry and Gooden had All-Star careers tarnished by drug usage, while Mitchell had his own legacy tainted by a reckless lifestyle, which included arrests. As for the cat story, Mitchell told the Daily News in 2009 Gooden made it up.
Strawberry was not present for the alleged incident, but he did not hold back discussing it Tuesday. Perhaps not surprisingly, his story aligns with that of his close friend Gooden:
"That's a pretty good story. I think that's pretty accurate. Kevin Mitchell did do that. Kevin Mitchell, he's a different type of guy. Great guy, super teammate ... I guess he figured that the girlfriend was acting a little crazy, so I'll kill her cat."
There are a lot of odd features about this answer. First of all, Strawberry is talking about cutting off a pet's head and retains a smile. His wife, Tracy, sits uncomfortably next to him. Darryl and Tracy appeared on the program to promote their new book, "The Imperfect Marriage: Help For Those Who Think It's Over." The Strawberrys have their own story of marriage arguments.
Strawberry also used the term "pretty accurate" but did not go into details. Does he have legitimate inside information on the event? If so, this is big news. Or is Darryl just simply supporting Doc?
Animal cruelty is a serious crime and Mitchell has never been brought in front of a court of law on the event. Do Strawberry's public words carry enough weight for officials to look into possible charges? The last thing Mitchell needs is another appearance in court.
Then again, if he really decapitated his girlfriend's cat, justice must be served.
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.
