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Major League Baseball legend and motivational speaker Darryl Strawberry stopped by Warsaw Community High School on Wednesday to speak to both 5th graders as well as the high school baseball and softball teams.
Strawberry discussed his career on the field, as well as issues with addiction and legal troubles off of it in an hour-long interview with superintendent Dr. David Hoeffert. Strawberry credited the surrendering of his life to God and Jesus Christ as what pulled him out of his addiction and set him on his new path.
“I tell kids all the time, you can pick your sins but you can’t pick your consequences,” Strawberry said during the talk. “I’m not a victim, I’m an overcomer. I’ve been rescued and restored so I can tell these kids that this stuff leads to a dead end. I hope these young kids will realize that and I can help show them.
“It can happen to anybody. Even me. I was living a really nice life and all of a sudden I’m in Florida State Prison facing reality. But God helped me when I couldn’t help myself.”
Beginning his career with the New York Mets in 1983, Strawberry was well known during his heyday as being one of the best power hitters in all of baseball. His career would go on to span 17 seasons with four different teams. He’d win four World Series titles as a player, one with the Mets and three with the Yankees. The eight-time All-Star finished his career with 335 home runs and 1,000 RBIs. He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2010.
However, Strawberry stressed throughout his conversation that he has been at his happiest with his life since his career has ended and he has begun this new chapter. He looks back at an emotional moment when his mother passed away.
“My mother was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, and she spent the end of her life praying for me,” Strawberry said. “It wasn’t until we found her journal after she passed that I saw how much she was asking God to help me out. I wish I had listened to her earlier.”
He also credits his wife Tracy for helping him stay consistent in his transition of turning his life around.
“She eventually asked me, ‘When are you going to take off the uniform?’ and that was when it all kind of hit me,” he said. “I had spent my whole life being Darryl Strawberry the player and not Darryl Strawberry the person.”
Strawberry has since dedicated his life to traveling the world and speaking to different groups, including student athletes, about putting themselves on the right path and setting themselves up for success.
“It’s a thrill for me to go to these schools and encourage these young athletes. Nobody prepared me for this stuff,” Strawberry said. “It’s important to carry the message that this could happen at any time. As athletes we think all we need to worry about is playing time and injuries, but that’s not the case.”
Along with sharing his struggles with addiction and how he has combated it, Strawberry took the time to talk about what goes into being an athlete of the highest caliber. He discussed what it was like to prepare to face Nolan Ryan, what he felt during the 9th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and his unorthodox batting stance.
“I had all of the scouts telling me when I was in the minor leagues that I could not succeed hitting in the pros with that stance. Well, they were wrong,” he said to a roar of laughter from his audience. “That’s why I tell young people to not listen to what other people say. If you believe in yourself and really think you can achieve what you want to achieve, go for it.”
That wasn’t the only comical moment of the interview, as earlier, Strawberry talked about how much he loved playing at Wrigley Field because of how well he hit against the Cubs, as well as how unique it was to interact with their fans.
“Those bleacher creatures were something, man,” he said with a smile. “I remember this one guy came at me saying I suck, I looked at him and he had his shirt off, was 300 pounds and had two beers in his hand. So I just asked him, ‘I suck?’”
Strawberry concluded the talk by taking questions from the students and adults in attendance. He then took the time to take pictures and sign baseballs for each and every person that asked him. He will be traveling to New York this weekend to go to the Mets’ Old Timers Day as well to give a eulogy at the funeral of his former manager, Davey Johnson.
