Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990 TAG: 9004090058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HAL BOCK ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. LENGTH: Long
You could almost read his lips.
"Stay back. Wait on the pitch. Wait . . . wait . . . wait . . .
"Now!"
In an instant, Strawberry let loose that smooth, fluid swing, that swing you cannot teach, that swing that comes as standard equipment to a chosen few hitters.
The ball jumped off his bat and soared majestically, high and far into the blue Florida sky. The stragglers on the nearly empty field turned to watch. Straw Man's shots have that effect on people.
Strawberry looked at the ball for a moment, too. Now he turned, a giant grin creasing his face as he trotted off to do a lap around the bases. He smiles a lot these days. He has put a troubled winter behind him. He is concentrating instead on a splendid spring.
"It's been a different kind of training camp for me," he said. "It's been enjoyable and relaxing. I realize now the only person I have to please is myself. And, for me, that's a big change.
"For a long time, all I ever heard about was my potential, the expectations other people had for me. It's not easy to play in New York. There's always pressure to do well. There's nothing you can do about that. If I just do what I can do, work hard down here, it will get better."
Nobody worked harder in the New York Mets' abbreviated spring training camp. He often was the first player to arrive at the ballpark in the morning, working in the weight room, running, hitting.
He is like a kid again, renewed it seems, with a fresh outlook on life by nearly a month in alcohol rehabilitation at the Smithers Institute in New York. "I feel like I did when I was growing up, playing ball for fun back in Los Angeles," he said.
It is not the only change. There seems to be less swagger in him. He is still the cleanup hitter, still the main man in the middle of the Mets' lineup. But there now seems a gentler side that wasn't always evident.
Strawberry said the Smithers experience has given him a new insight into himself.
"I know there will be bad days," he said. "That's human. I doubted myself last season. I kept it to myself, didn't open up to the guys. Now I feel I can and that's a good feeling.
"I was a little nervous about how they would respond down here but they've supported me. Guys like Ronnie Darling and Bobby Ojeda, understanding people, have helped. We have a growing friendship outside of baseball."
His teammates say the change in Strawberry is obvious. "He's having a good time," Dwight Gooden said. "You can see that. He's happy and that's important for him and for us."
That is a major change for Strawberry. Last year when he struggled to a .225 average, he was a loner, largely isolated. In spring training there was an ugly confrontation on photo day with Keith Hernandez, who snapped "Grow up!" at him. Strawberry stormed out of camp a day later in a brief showdown over his contract.
Hernandez is gone now, but the episode was resurrected on this year's photo day when manager Davey Johnson jokingly jumped between Strawberry and Gooden. Strawberry laughed at the reminder of what was an embarrassing episode. A year ago, he would not have seen the humor.
"I had a destructive 1989 season," he said. "I really didn't have much motivation. Deep down, I felt that everybody was against me. I couldn't handle the pressure. I locked myself in a corner and let my life get out of control. I wouldn't get close to anyone. I wouldn't deal with the depression."
Strawberry's life hit rock bottom in January when police were called to his home because of a domestic dispute with his wife, Lisa. A day later, Dr. Allan Lans, the Mets' psychiatrist, arrived and by week's end, Strawberry was in Smithers.
"It was time," he said, holding a bat at his locker. "People have problems and never take the time to deal with them and to know themselves. Dr. Lans has always been helpful. I'm a stubborn guy. It was a step for me to listen, to trust him.
"Smithers was good for me. It was learning a new way to live. It gave me a new life. I learned to be happy and face the things I have to face being Darryl Strawberry. That's been hard throughout my career, being myself and not being what others expected me to be.
"It's a burden being Darryl Strawberry. A lot of people don't understand that."
His often substantial production - 215 home runs, never less than 26 in a season - increased the pressure on Strawberry. He often promised monster seasons that dwindled in the delivery. There will be none of that now.
"I want to be part of the team and do what I can do to make us win," he said. "I'm not setting goals. My goal is having fun. That's what baseball is all about. Everything comes naturally after that. I'm enjoying myself and I had lost that. I was playing for others, not for myself. The politics, the other stuff. That's not the way to play baseball.
"I've learned to play for fun again. In the past, it wasn't like that. I feel like a kid again, when I was playing for the love of it. We're having fun, cracking jokes. It's the way this game was meant to be played."
Strawberry is prepared for the pitfalls. Idle time on the road can lead to trouble. He says it will not be a problem.
"I know what I have to do," he said, "and I will do it."
by CNB