Darryl Strawberry, a baseball great, went from hitting home runs to saving hearts.
Former Mets catcher Barry Lyons, a recovering alcoholic, credits Stroh, now an evangelical minister, with saving his life.
Lyons, 63, has been clean for 12 years and said an encounter with former drunkard Strawberry set him on the path to sobriety.
“I’m grateful that my faith in God got me through, and Darryl helped me through it.” [me] That journey begins,” Lyons told the Post.
The former catcher’s awakening came during the ’86 Mets’ 25th Anniversary Weekend reunion party at the old Strawberry’s Sports Grill in Douglaston, Queens.
“When I met Darryl, he had a big smile on his face, a glow and peace that told me something was different. Three months later, I surrendered and took my life. I dedicated it to Christ,” Lyons recalled.
Lyons said the last time he drank alcohol was on January 2, 2012. “Jack Daniels, No. 7, was my poison. For years, I couldn’t do without it,” he said.
More than 12 years later, the former Mets catcher will be on the guest list when the team retires Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 at Citi Field on April 14 and Strawberry’s No. 18 in June. “I couldn’t be more excited.” 1.
Darryl contributed [me] That journey begins,” Lyons said. Getty Images
“It’s a great honor” to have his jersey retired soon. Getty Images
The peace that taught me that something was different. 3 months later I
I surrendered and gave my life to Christ,” Lyons (above) recalled. Getty Images
“Barry is just a nice guy. Always positive energy,” Gooden said, adding that he and Lyons have been close friends for years and “we can talk about anything.”
Strawberry, who has suffered several falls in her life, said she owes her strength to bounce back from bouts of addiction and cancer to her late mother Ruby, who passed away in 1996.
“My sweet little mommy. She raised me right. I just chose to live a pagan lifestyle,” Strawberry, who turns 62 on Tuesday, told the Post about her past mistakes. told.
“After a painful struggle, I was in great shape for a long time. … Just because I put on a uniform doesn’t make me a man. It just makes you a baseball player.”
Strawberry has remained clean for almost 19 years. His breakthrough came in 2000 when he met his third wife, Tracy, at a Drugs Anonymous convention in Tampa, Florida.
She battled drug addiction but was clean for a year before meeting one of baseball’s greats.
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Although they preach a faith-based recovery, Strawberry has never tried to tell anyone how to live.
“I was just trying to encourage everyone that there is another side to life. But you have to make a conscious decision – and [take] A big step towards achieving that. you have to do your part. ”
The slugger said his wife’s help and his mother’s prayers brought him “full circle.”
Strawberry’s latest road trips, “270 a year,” include speaking to groups such as prisoners in Hagerstown and Cumberland, Maryland.
“I’m just doing my job, helping people and encouraging them,” he added. How do I end this life? ”
As for the Lions, Strawberry told his hard-partying former teammate that he had given his life to the Lord, a Biloxi, Mississippi, native who lost his home in Hurricane Katrina and his marriage amidst alcohol and marijuana addiction. He reportedly said that he saw light. His own.
“I couldn’t bring him back to the straight and narrow. I just had a different way of living. And he was going down a completely dark path and I didn’t really want that in my life. If you don’t surrender to this fact of your life, you will ultimately lose your life.”
Strawberry, the Mets’ all-time home run leader with 252 home runs, called the soon-to-be-retired jersey “a great honor.” I look forward to celebrating that day with my dear friends and family. ”
However, the slugger vowed to “never” return to MLB in any capacity. Strawberry will always love New York and its fans, but he said what he’s doing now is “so much more than hitting a baseball.”
