Behavior in Eye of Beholder : Baseball: MVP statistics help gloss over the antics of Giants’ Mitchell.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. â€”  Those 47 home runs and 125 runs batted in of last season brought Kevin Mitchell several benefits, including the National League’s most valuable player award, a $1.85-million contract for 1990 and the willingness of the San Francisco Giants to react mildly when Mitchell marches to his own drum beat.

Among recent solos by Mitchell:

--He missed a team flight to Chicago before last October’s playoff with the Cubs.

--He failed to show for a World Series workout.

--He did not attend a banquet in St. Louis, at which he was to receive a player of the year award from The Sporting News, which sent first-class tickets for Mitchell and his girlfriend and dispatched a limousine to pick them up at the airport.

--He failed to attend the San Francisco news conference at which his MVP award was announced, and, on Saturday, he finally reported to the Giants’ camp--five days late.

Mitchell said he was having dental work done, including three root canals caused by a piece of doughnut lodged under a tooth. The Giants accepted the explanation and said it was another non-issue. Painless.

“The Hall of Fame is filled with guys who were not choir boys,� Giants General Manager Al Rosen said. “No. 7 is simply No. 7. All I want is for him to answer the bell 162 times this year.�

Mitchell sat in the dugout after his first workout and opened wide, displaying what he said was an 18-karat glow that matched the gold necklaces around his neck.

He said the latest incident, like all the rest, has been blown out of proportion, but that the media portrait of him existing “in my own little world� will be a source of motivation.

He said he was disappointed that the Giants didn’t offer him a multiyear contract similar to the four-year deal that Will Clark received, but said: “I’m happy for Will. It looks like he’s going to be here longer than I will.�

The suspicion is that the Giants have chosen not to make a big deal out of Mitchell’s indiscretions because it would diminish his trade value, although Rosen said Saturday that you don’t trade a player of Mitchell’s ability.

In the wake of a winter filled with rumors to the contrary, Mitchell inaugurated his short spring with a series of distant home runs in batting practice. He seemed 10 to 15 pounds overweight but said he came in at 220, two to four pounds over his playing weight.

He said he stayed active during the winter with swimming, martial arts and twice-a-week games in a semi-pro border league near his San Diego home.

“I feel like I’ve got a jump on all these guys because I’ve been facing live pitching all winter,� he said. “I mean, I don’t know what the big deal is. I’m here, and there’s probably guys on other teams who haven’t shown yet.�

Said Manager Roger Craig, after watching Mitchell in batting practice: “I don’t think there’s going to be any problem with him being ready when the season opens.�

There’s never a problem when you hit 47 homers and drive in 125 runs.