From Baseball To Addiction To Redemption

Former baseball great Darryl Strawberry play 17 major league seasons with the Mets, Dodgers, Giants and Yankees. He won a World Series with the Mets in 1986. But off the field, Strawberry struggled with addiction for most of his adult life.

He was recently asked by Sports Spectrum radio, "How was life like for you?"

Strawberry said, "I was very lonely because I didn't have a father in my life. My pain lead to my greatness and my greatness lead me to my destructive behavior. ... I was very successful from the outside standpoint and everybody looking at me, but I was empty inside."

Strawberry's described his lowest point, saying, "There were a lot of low points. Being affected by cancer twice. Losing my left kidney in my second surgery. My mom died at an early age, so I thought I may be doomed for that too. That was a real struggle. Addiction was right there with me in the midst of that. I was still hopeless because I was still empty inside."

Thankfully, for Darryl Strawberry, he did not stay empty on the inside. He found the missing piece to his life. He found God. Strawberry states, "Even at the bottom of the drug use - even being lost for years and years after baseball, it wasn't until God interceded into my life."

Jason Romano, "From Baseball to Addiction to Redemption," Sports Spectrum, Spring 2018, p. 52-54.