Darryl Strawberry talks faith, life and a lil’ baseball, too

Darryl Strawberry hit 335 home runs during his 17-year career.

He appeared in eight All-Star games and won four World Series.

All fabulous accomplishments and numbers that are etched on the back of his baseball cards.

The New York Mets’ former first overall draft pick didn’t bring up any of those numbers Friday when he spoke to a capacity crowd at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art’s luncheon series that accompanies it’s “Our Love Affair With Baseball” exhibit.

Instead, Strawberry built his speech off of 13 — the years he’s been sober and traveling the country as an ordained minister.

“He made headlines for both monstrous home runs and World Series championships and amazing things, but also for some of the pitfalls that happen to us all when we turn from God,” said exhibit curator Barry Lyons while introducing his former Mets teammate. “His life has been restored in a way that is just amazing.”

Strawberry spoke for 15 minutes about faith, community, avoiding life’s pitfalls and finding a true purpose.

“I think so many miss out on that because they look at an athlete or celebrity and they think they have it all together and that’s not the case,” Strawberry said after signing autographs. “There’s some real rooted issues in their life that they never deal with and if we can ever get to a place where we educate the younger generation on what’s important, the real principles and they have faith, then baseball can just be a part of what you do.

“I think we’ve gotten away from there.”

Pitfalls of fame

Admittedly — and now rather famously — Strawberry was one of those who fell into the pitfalls of fame and fortune while a member of the Mets in the mid-1980s.

“I had a great time and career, won championships, did all kinds of things and accomplished a lot of things but I was broken inside,” he said. “I fell into the pitfalls of playing in New York City. Alcohol and drugs became my life.”

Strawberry pointed to his upbringing in a “dysfunctional family” where his father abused him as leading to both his highs and lows later in life.

“My pain led me to my greatness,” he said. “My greatness led me to my destructive behavior.”

So why did he turn his life around and decide to travel the country helping others?

“I always knew that I wasn’t the person my mother raised,” he said. “I needed to come back to what was really important and who I really am. That’s what we all search for — who am I really? What’s my purpose?”

Mississippi made

During a nearly 30-minute question and answer session with fans, Strawberry said his proudest moment as a player came on Sept. 17, 1986, when the Mets claimed the National League East title with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

“It was a moment to reflect on what we had just accomplished after so many years the Mets organization being so bad,” Strawberry said. “Then Davey Johnson coming over, and (Doc) Gooden and (Gary) Carter and (Keith) Hernandez and all the different players and the way general manager Frank Cashen built the team.

“For us to win the National League East and clinch at home, and to see the fans rush the field, was the most incredible feeling a ballplayer can ever get — especially playing at the height of your career and in New York City.

“... Nothing replaces that feeling.”

Strawberry actually credited his time in Mississippi four years earlier for turning him into an All-Star.

He had contemplated hanging up his cleats the year before after hitting .255 with Lynchburg (Va.), but opted to give baseball one more chance.

“Jackson, Mississippi made me a baseball player,” said Strawberry, who hit .283 with 34 homers and 97 RBIs for the Double-A Jackson Mets in 1982. “I can truly say that. If it wasn’t for Jackson and what I did in the Texas League that year, I probably would have quit baseball.

“I came to Jackson, Mississippi that year and my baseball career took off and I became a baseball player from that season.”

Main message

One of Strawberry’s first messages for the crowd was that putting on a uniform doesn’t make you a man — it simply makes you a baseball player. What you do when the jersey comes back off is what determines who you are.

It’s messages like those — not how to swing a baseball bat — that Strawberry hopes sticks with the crowd.

For more about Strawberry’s ministry, visit Strawberryministries.org.

This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Darryl Strawberry talks faith, life and a lil’ baseball, too."