Darryl Strawberry

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Darryl Strawberry
Outfielder
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB Debut
May 6, 1983 for the New York Mets
Final game
October 17, 1999 for the New York Yankees
Career Statistics
Slugging Percentage     .505
Home Runs     335
Intentional Walks     131
Teams
Career Highlights and Awards

Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is a former baseball player who is well known both for his play in the baseball field and for his controversial behavior outside of it.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in the game, known for his prodigious home runs and his intimidating presence in the batter's box with his 6-foot-6 frame and his long, looping swing. He helped lead the New York Mets and the New York Yankees to four World Series championships in his 17-year career.

A popular player during his career, Strawberry was voted to the All-Star Game eight straight times from 1984-1991.

Contents

[edit] Background and early career

Strawberry, a native of Los Angeles who played high school baseball for the Crenshaw High Cougars along with Chris Brown, and against Eric Davis at Fremont High and Chili Davis at Dorsey High (all future fellow big leaguers), was drafted first overall in the 1980 draft by the New York Mets. Some baseball pundits had anointed him by then as the black Ted Williams. In New York, he began to play in the MLB level in 1983, posting 26 home runs, hitting 7 triples and bringing in 74 runs, while hitting for a .257 average that year. He was named the National League's Rookie of The Year. In 1984, he made it to the All-Star game, and once again, he hit 26 home runs, while bringing in 97 runs. His batting stance employed a distinctive high leg kick.

[edit] The prime years

In 1985, despite missing 43 games due to an injury to his right thumb, he rapped 29 homers as the Mets fell 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East.

In 1986, Strawberry hit 27 homers and knocking in 93 runs as the Mets won the 1986 World Series.

In 1987, Strawberry hit 39 home runs and stole 37 bases. In addition to that, he hit 32 doubles and drove in 104 runs. Despite this, the Mets failed to reach the playoffs.

In 1988, Strawberry once again hit 39 home runs and drove in 101 runs. The Mets reached the playoffs, losing to the Dodgers in the National League championship series.

In 1989, Strawberry's offensive numbers went down: He only had 29 home runs and 77 runs batted in with a .225 average. Nevertheless, the Mets came in a close second place to the Chicago Cubs in the National League East.

In 1990, Strawberry hit 37 home runs, while bringing in 108 runs and batting for a .277 average. His Mets, however, came once again in a close second place in the NL's east, losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates by two games.

During the period from 1983 to 1990, Strawberry was very popular, with such things as action figures (Kenner's Starting Lineup), posters and banners of him being produced. He was also very controversial. He got into a physical altercation on team picture day with team captain Keith Hernandez[1] and in the midst of a war of words with infielder Wally Backman, threatened to "bust that little redneck in the face". He often overslept and was late or missed team workouts. He publicly complained about Manager Davey Johnson after he was lifted for pinch-hitter Kevin Mitchell during the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, just minutes after their improbable comeback from the brink of elimination to win the game. After the 1991 season in which he was only 29 years old he had 280 lifetime homers, drawing comparisons to home run king Hank Aaron. Even with those statistics many people still felt he was a lazy underachiever. After that season his personal problems escalated and he would not hit his 300th homer for another 5 years.

Strawberry signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991, inking a very lucrative contract. In California, he was named Big Brother of The Year for that year. It was while playing in Los Angeles, however, that his personal problems started to surface: He was accused there of domestic violence by his wife, and, in a widely publicized incident, he suggested that he wanted Los Angeles to burn in hell. After hitting 28 home runs and bringing in 99 runs batted in his first year there, his offensive numbers also suffered, and he hit only 10 home runs for the next two years.

[edit] His later years

In 1994, he was released in May and signed with the San Francisco Giants, where his offensive numbers continued to go downwards, hitting only four home runs and bringing in only 17 runs that year.

After a suspension from the league in 1995 due to his involvement with illegal drugs, Darryl signed with the Saint Paul Saints of the Northern League on May 3, 1996 in an attempt to rehabilitate. On June 2nd the Saints were to face the Duluth-Superior Dukes at Wade Stadium. It was at that time that the Straw hit his first home run for the Saints, at a distance of 522' off of pitcher Pat Ahearne[1]. Soon thereafter, he found himself back in New York, as the New York Yankees signed him on July 4, 1996.

With the Yankees, he showed flashes of his former brilliance, as he hit only three homers in his first year, but had 11 home runs and helped his team win the World Series in 1996, alongside former Mets teammate Dwight Gooden. In 1997, he did not have any home runs, his playing time limited by injuries, but in 1998, he had 24 home runs, once again helping the Yankees win the World Series. This was also the year he was diagnosed with colon cancer[2]. In 1999, he only hit 3 home runs, but the Yankees once again were baseball's world champions.

Strawberry was once said to have been talented enough to break Hank Aaron's home run record, but due to personal problems, he did not even get halfway there. Strawberry still managed to be an eight-time All-Star, and each time his teams reached the World Series, Strawberry played for the winning team. He retired with 335 home runs, 1000 RBIs, and a career .505 slugging percentage.

In 2005, his first year of eligibility, Strawberry received less than 5% of the vote (he received 6 votes; the threshold was 26) from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, thus becoming ineligible to appear on future BBWAA ballots. However, he may eventually be considered for induction into the Hall by the Veterans Committee once 20 years have passed from his date of retirement (therefore, in the year 2020), in accordance with current Hall of Fame rules (enacted in 2001).

Strawberry attended the Mets' 1986 World Champion team reunion on August 19, 2006, where he and the rest of the team received a standing ovation from fans at Shea Stadium in an on-field ceremony. He was not scheduled to appear due to a dispute with the team over deferred salary, but eventually did. [3]

Strawberry worked as an instructor for the New York Mets in 2005.

Strawberry threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Shea Stadium in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 12, 2006. He was given a rousing ovation by the Shea Stadium crowd.

[edit] Legal and personal problems

  • On January 29, 1987, Strawberry's wife, Lisa, filed for a legal separation from him in a Los Angeles court. She also accused him of breaking her nose after a game the previous October. On May 18, 1989, she filed for divorce in Los Angeles. On October 15, 1993, they divorced. The couple had two children together.
  • On April 7, 1989, Strawberry was sued in Clayton, Missouri by Lisa Clayton (not to be confused with his wife, Lisa Watkins) claiming that he is the father of Clayton's son. On January 24, 1990, blood tests proved that Strawberry was indeed the boy's father.
  • On January 26, 1990, two days after blood tests proved he fathered another woman's child, Strawberry was arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly slapping his wife, Lisa, and threatening her with a handgun. On March 9, attorneys announced that no charges would be filed.
  • On February 3, 1990, shortly after being arrested for hitting and threatening his wife, Strawberry checked into alcohol rehab.
  • On September 4, 1993, Strawberry was arrested for hitting his girlfriend, Charisse Simon, who was three-months pregnant at the time. Reportedly, witnesses said she had been hitting him with a bat near where he had earlier had surgery. She later refused to press charges and, on December 3, they were married. They now have three children.
  • On April 3, 1994, Strawberry was absent from a baseball game and was not found until that night. The next day, the Dodgers announced that he had a substance abuse problem. Four days later, Strawberry began four weeks in the Betty Ford Center.
  • On December 8, 1994, Strawberry and his agent were indicted for failing to report more than $300,000 of income from autograph and memorabilia shows. On April 24, 1995, Strawberry was ordered to repay $350,000 in back taxes and sentenced to six months of home confinement.
  • On February 6, 1995, Strawberry was suspended for 60 days by Major League Baseball after testing positive for cocaine. He was released by the San Francisco Giants on the same day.
  • On December 11, 1995, Strawberry was charged in California with failing to make child support payments. When he missed a June 24, 1996 deadline to pay the child support, a Los Angeles judge set a trial date of July 5, at which time Strawberry agreed to use his signing bonus to pay the debt. [2]
  • On April 14, 1999, Strawberry was arrested in Tampa, Florida for soliciting sex from a policewoman posing as a prostitute and for having a small amount of cocaine. On April 24, he was suspended for 120 days by Major League Baseball for the incident. On May 26, he pleaded no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 18 months probation and community service. [4]
  • On September 11, 2000, in Tampa, Strawberry tried to drive to see his probation officer after taking painkillers. While driving, he blacked out, rear-ended another car, and then tried to drive away. An off-duty police officer witnessed the episode and arrested him at gunpoint. The next day, Strawberry admitted to the charges and his probation was changed to two years of house arrest. On November 21, he was sentenced to a year of probation and community service. [6]
  • On October 25, 2000, Strawberry left a Tampa drug treatment center to use drugs with a female friend violating his house arrest and parole. On November 9, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for time served. [7]
  • On November 3, 2000, Strawberry told a judge in Tampa that he had lost his will to live and had stopped chemotherapy. On November 14, he was released from jail and sent back to rehab. [8]
  • On April 2, 2001, Strawberry was arrested for again disappearing from his house arrest drug treatment center in Tampa. On May 17, he was sentenced to more time at a drug treatment center. [9]
  • On March 12, 2002, Strawberry was back in jail for violating several non-drug rules at the drug treatment center where he was on probation in Ocala, Florida. On April 29, he was ordered to serve the 18-month suspended prison sentence from 1999. [10]
  • On September 17, 2005, Strawberry reported his sport utility vehicle had been stolen from a Delray Beach, Florida gas station but the station's surveillance video showed Strawberry leaving as a passenger in another vehicle. A tipster then told police that Strawberry had earlier left his SUV behind a sports bar and given her the keys. He was later charged with filing a false police report.

[edit] Additional details

His son, D.J. Strawberry, is now a college basketball player at the University of Maryland. D.J. claims he and Darryl have very little contact and Darryl is a non-factor in his life because he was not there for him when he was younger. However, the elder Strawberry is frequently seen courtside at his son's games.

Strawberry appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated seven times: five times by himself, once with Don Mattingly, and once with Dwight Gooden.

In 2004 the Rebecca Gilman play The Sweetest Swing in Baseball premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The lead character—Dana, as portrayed by Gillian Anderson—adopts the personality and speech of Darryl Strawberry in an attempt to pass herself off as schizophrenic. The title is a reference to Strawberry's playing skills.

He was featured in The Simpsons episode, "Homer at the Bat".

Strawberry and Jose Vizcaino are the only two Major League Baseball players to have played for all four (one-time) New York teams -- the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Francisco Giants.

Strawberry is recognized as the only player to win a World Series championship with both of New York's teams. He won one with the Mets in 1986 and won three with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, and 1999.

He now resides in St. Charles, Missouri.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Darryl Strawberry Info
  2. ^ ESPN biography of Darryl Strawberry. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
  3. ^ Olson, Lisa (2006-08-20). Reunion like it oughta be. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2006-08-21.

[edit] External links


Preceded by:
Al Chambers		 First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft
1980		 Succeeded by:
Mike Moore
Preceded by:
Steve Sax		 National League Rookie of the Year
1983		 Succeeded by:
Dwight Gooden
Preceded by:
Dave Parker		 Home Run Derby Champion
1986		 Succeeded by:
Andre Dawson
Preceded by:
Andre Dawson		 National League Player of the Month
September, 1987		 Succeeded by:
Bobby Bonilla
Preceded by:
Andre Dawson		 National League Home Run Champion
1988		 Succeeded by:
Kevin Mitchell
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