Daryl Strawberry Fondly Recalls Battle With Drug Addiction

LOS ANGELES--Darryl Strawberry once had it all. The former baseball star was one of the premier sluggers of his era, winning rookie of the year honors in 1983 and a World Series in 1986. In his prime, he was the toast of Manhattan, frequenting the city’s famous hotspots with his teammates, cavorting with beautiful groupies, drinking excessively, and ingesting huge amounts of high-quality cocaine. Those glory days came to an end in the early 90’s when Strawberry, then a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, checked into the Betty Ford clinic with a substance abuse problem.

Almost ten years later, Strawberry is drug free and an active member of the Without Walls International Church. He spends most of his time attending mass, performing charity work, and fondly recalling his days of booze, drugs, and hookers.

“Boy, those were days,” said Strawberry, a warm smile on his face. “Especially ‘86. Man, ’86 was the year. We won 108 games, we were the talk of the town, and all we did was take drugs and get laid. Don’t get me wrong. Drugs are a terrible, terrible thing, but there is something to be said for using a rolled up hundred dollar bill to snort lines off a stripper’s stomach.”

Strawberry often travels to elementary schools to educate children on the dangers of drug abuse. He tells harrowing tales of his battle with alcohol, pills, and cocaine in hopes of scaring the children straight. Sometimes, when Strawberry is speaking to a classroom of schoolchildren, his voice drifts off and he becomes lost in reverie.

“Sometimes I’ll be talking to the kids, and I’ll be telling a story about how I got myself all messed up one night at the Mercury Lounge and then it’ll all just come back to me,” said Strawberry. “You know, the all-night parties, the expensive wine, the VIP treatment, and the complete and total obliteration of my senses. My God that was fun. I do enjoy giving these anti-drug speeches, but sometimes my heart’s just not in it.”

Maria Gonzalez, a teacher at Miami’s Dade County Elementary school, recalls the day when Strawberry spoke to her class: “He was great, for the most part. But when he was telling all his so-called ‘horror stories’ he was smiling. At one point he was like ‘And when I was at my lowest point, I’d go to Scores and pick two of the most beautiful strippers, buy some really amazing coke from one of the bouncers, go to a penthouse in the Four Seasons and just party all night.’ Then he paused for a moment and stared off into space with this little grin on his face. I don’t blame him, really. That does sound like fun.”

Though none of Strawberry’s former teammates experienced the same crippling addiction he did, many of them shared his affinity for decadence and debauchery. The ’86 Mets had a well-deserved reputation as rambunctious party animals, and he was the “straw” that stirred the drink.

“He was the life of the party all right,” said former teammate Ray Knight, now a broadcaster for ESPN. “Whenever we needed something, he got it. Whenever we were looking for something to do, Darryl was the one with the ideas and the connections. I often warn my own children about the perils of drug and alcohol abuse, but frankly, I'd give my left nut to go back to those days.”

“Straw, he was more into the drugs than the rest of us,” he continued. “We were casual users, but he really took to it. He just didn’t know when to stop. I kind of envied him.”

Mets Manager Davey Johnson tried on numerous occasions to steer Strawberry down the right path, but he was powerless to stop the right fielder’s descent into addiction.

“I knew Straw was hurting his body doing all that stuff,” said Johnson. “I knew him and the other guys liked to do coke and drink and all that, but there wasn’t much I could do to stop them. How could I? They were having too much damn fun. I was actually a little jealous. But I had the last laugh, didn’t I? Darryl ended up losing his wife and coming down with colon cancer. Ha Ha…OK, that’s not funny.”

Today, Strawberry is on his way to a church-sponsored youth conference in Los Angeles. The ex-baseball player will once again be asked to stand before a group of impressionable teens and speak honestly about his transgressions. He’s looking forward to the opportunity, but said that “total honesty” is not always the best policy.

“Let’s face it. If we were all totally honest with kids about drugs, they’d be running out and trying them immediately,” said Strawberry. “I mean, I’m not about to get up there and say ‘Yea, smoking Acapulco Gold and drinking champagne in a hot tub with four bikini-clad exotic dancers is a terrible nightmare.’ They’d laugh in my face. I have to skip over that stuff and tell them about the after effects. You know, like finding Jesus. Now that’s a drag.”

No longer a lean, young, confident superstar, the 42-year-old Strawberry must carry the burden of unfulfilled expectations. But that’s fine with the old slugger, who knows that all good things must come to an end.

“It can’t last forever. That’s one thing I learned,” he said. “At the end of the day it really takes its toll on you mentally, physically, and spiritually. I’m just glad I have the church to help my get by. I really do. Hanging out with the Without Walls International Church is much, much better than having fun… I mean, doing drugs.”