Mets legend Darryl Strawberry reflects on his life and career ahead of Saturday’s ceremony to retire his No. 18 jersey at Citi Field. Washington Post reporter Mike Puma explains.
In the spring of 2002, I entered a correctional facility in Gainesville, Florida, serving a probation violation sentence for cocaine possession and my life was near rock bottom.
I was in an empty state of mind. It’s not that I didn’t have great success in the major leagues. I was successful, so how did I fall so far down the drain? It’s the pitfalls of life that destroy people. I’m grateful that this pitfall stopped me instead of destroying me completely, because I could have easily dropped out of life and been dead.
Once you fall into drug addiction and your mind is broken, many people never come back. Looking back at myself, my time in prison was part of a journey to slow my progression so I wouldn’t die.
I was eventually released after serving more than half of my 18-month sentence. I got out and started over with my life. Little did I know then that the big celebration the Mets are planning for Saturday when my No. 18 jersey is retired would come to fruition.
My goal back then was to become the person I knew my mother raised me to be. I was raised right, but I made bad choices. And I always say, “You can choose your sins, but you can’t choose your consequences.”
Consequences are real, and they apply to all of us. They don’t make you roll over and die. They require you to pay the price, rebuild your life, and become a different person.
To me, real life is like a baseball game because the challenge of going up against Nolan Ryan was a big one. It’s the same with life. I didn’t run away. I lost to Nolan at times, but then I beat him. Life knocked me down at times, but by persevering, I made it to the other side.
Years ago, I never would have imagined or even thought about my number being retired. I was more interested in becoming the man and father I was born to be.
When my life changed, I came back to the Mets. The first reason I came back was because of former general manager Omar Minaya. He was the one who convinced the organization with me and Doc Gooden, “We need to bring these guys back.” I’m grateful to Omar.
A lot of people underestimate how successful I was in those eight seasons with the Mets from 1983 onwards. People always say it was a waste of time and that my potential wasn’t realized, but that’s not true. Looking back on those eight seasons, Shea Stadium was my home, and that was the reality. I had fun, and people need to get over that.
I left as a free agent and our relationship fell apart, but I loved playing for the Mets. I played the best baseball of my life in Queens. I didn’t feel as successful playing anywhere else, and those times were part-time compared to the eight seasons I spent with the Mets.
Without Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, we would not have won the 1986 World Series. We had a strong team, but those two came to the team and taught us how to play at the highest level. They played in many important games and made the team stronger. When you see Keith’s number 17 retired, you think, “Oh, that should have happened a long time ago.” And when you start thinking about Strawberry and Gooden, it should have happened a long time ago. I was very happy when Doc’s number 16 was retired in April.
Saturday is going to be surreal. I want to thank all the fans and everyone who was a part of my development and progression to the major leagues. My good friend Eric Davis will be there along with Lloyd McClendon. I can thank Keith for helping me grow and become a strong player. I want to give a huge thank you to Carter and Mookie Wilson for the manliness they were. They were great baseball players, but they were also great examples of what it means to be a man. I also want to thank former general manager Frank Cashen for bringing me to New York and building the Mets into a championship team.
I am a lucky man. After all the health issues I’ve had – addiction, cancer, heart attacks – I was still able to stand and watch the Mets retire my number on Saturday, which is a miracle in itself.
