Random "Life I've Lived Should Have Killed Me": Rise And Fall Of Darryl Strawberry (10 items)

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  (#1) Strawberry Was A Rampant Sex Addict Who Slept With Fans Between Innings

  Strawberry has admitted that he used to be addicted to sex, and would seek out willing participants even during MLB games. Strawberry said in an interview that  he would point to a woman, have a locker room attendant go get her, and then they would consummate their dalliance between innings. He also asserted that his teammates and coaches were well aware of what was going on and would "cover for him." He told Dr. Oz: 

  "In the middle of games, yeah, I would go between innings, and stuff like that, and run back, and, you know, have a little party going on. And, you know, I thought it was pretty cool. I mean, that's just the addiction, the drive."
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  (#2) He Tried To Beat Up His Abusive Father Who Once Pulled A Gun On Darryl

  Darryl Strawberry was born in Los Angeles in 1962 to Hank and Ruby Strawberry, one of five children. Hank, known as "Big Hank," was a violent man and a raging alcoholic who used to beat Darryl and his older brother, Ronnie. According to Strawberry, 

  “Me and Ronnie was basically his whopping pole. He would lay us across the bed. We had our shirts off, and he would have like an extension cord. He would beat us and tell us, ‘You’re never going to be nothing. You don’t do nothing right,’ and it was just so bad. I was terrified inside of the fact that what he was saying to me I truly believed it.”

  When Darryl and his brothers got old enough, they started confronting their father. In one particular altercation, Big Hank pulled a gun and Ronnie responded by getting a knife while Darryl grabbed a frying pan. Hank backed down and later left the family, leaving Ruby to raise five kids on her own. 
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  (#3) The Stress Of Success Made Him Turn To Drugs - Which Got Him Traded Around The Country

  For Darryl, baseball became an outlet for his anger and a refuge from his family trauma. His success as a high school player fed his ego, 

  “I thought I was bigger than life and nobody could tell me nothing. That wasn’t anything personal, it was always because of the fact that I had been controlled for so long. Now, this was my outlet, and this was where nobody was ever going to control me again.”

  In 1980, at the age of 18, Strawberry was drafted to the New York Mets and, after three years in the minor leagues, was on the Mets roster in 1983. During his rookie year, Strawberry hit 26 home runs and stole 19 bases, earning him the National League Rookie of the Year prize. He continued to play well, helping the Mets win the World Series in 1986. The success got to Strawberry, however, and he turned to amphetamines and alcohol to escape. From there, he began using cocaine and "everything. I could shoot dope, shoot heroin, smoke crack, it didn't matter. Drink alcohol, it didn't matter. Whatever I liked to do on that particular day, that's what I would do."
  
  Strawberry left the Mets in 1990 for the Los Angeles Dodgers but his personal problems, injuries, and less than stellar play got him traded to the San Francisco Giants in 1994. Strawberry was let go from the Giants after he tested positive for drugs, was suspended from baseball, and entered rehab. After rehab, he played for an independent league before being recruited by the New York Yankees for the 1995 season. 
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  (#4) Strawberry Was Arrested For Propositioning Women In 1999

  While recovering from a cancer diagnosis and surgery, Strawberry was arrested for approaching an undercover police officer and soliciting sex - for $50 - in Florida. He also had cocaine on him at the time, wrapped up in some cash inside his wallet, although he claimed it wasn't his. He also claimed he'd been merely joking when he propositioned the woman. Eventually, he pled no contest and was suspended from the Yankees for 140 games.
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  (#5) Strawberry Was Arrested For Hitting His First Wife

  Darryl Strawberry married his first wife, Lisa, in 1985. Lisa filed for separation in 1987, claiming that her husband had broken her nose in 1986. The two got back together until 1989 when Lisa filed for divorce. But then Darryl was named in a paternity suit by Lisa Clayton, and blood tests proved that Strawberry was the father of their child. He agreed to pay child support. In 1990, Strawberry was arrested for threatening his wife with a gun but the charges were later dropped after he agreed to go to rehab. 
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  (#6) Strawberry Was Suspended From Baseball Three Times For Cocaine Abuse

  All told, Strawberry was suspended from baseball for drugs three times, once when he was with the Giants and twice with the Yankees. Drugs weren't his only legal troubles, however. In addition to the domestic abuse charge and paternity suit, Strawberry also faced charges of tax evasion. Strawberry had taken profits for signing memorabilia but never declared it and was ordered to pay $350,000 in back taxes in 1995. He again had to pay the IRS in 2008 for tax years 1989 and 1990.
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  (#7) He Was Diagnosed With Colon Cancer In 1998

  After complaining of stomach pain for months, Strawberry was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1998 and underwent surgery to remove a tumor as well as part of his bowel. He underwent chemotherapy and made a full recovery, returning to baseball the next year, but the cancer showed up in his lymph nodes in 2000.  He had one of his lymph nodes and a kidney removed as a result. 
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  (#8) Strawberry Was Sent To Rehab, Walked Out, And Got Arrested - Twice

  Strawberry played only 24 games for the Yankees in 1999 but re-signed with them for the 2000 season. He tested positive for drugs again, however, and was suspended for a year. This more or less ended his professional baseball career after 17 years in the league. As a result of the drug test, Strawberry went back to rehab but left before completing the full program.

  It was in August of that same year when he underwent his surgery for his cancer recurrence and the following month he was arrested for driving while on painkillers. He was on his way to see his probation officer, passed out, and attempted to leave the scene and was arrested at gunpoint. He was arrested again in October and tested positive for cocaine again. This time he was sent to jail for 30 days as well as two years of house arrest at a treatment center. He left the treatment center in March 2001 without permission and was sent to yet another center in May. 
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  (#9) Strawberry Spent 11 Months In Prison In 2002 and 2003 Where He Continued His Philandering Addiction

  Strawberry struggled with his drug addiction through the early 2000s and, after violating his parole in 2002 by engaging in a sexual relationship with a fellow patient at his treatment facility, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail. He served 11 months and was released in early 2003.

  Through all of these relapses, Strawberry's second wife, Charisse, continued to support him, to "believe in the man she... sheltered through drug and alcohol addiction, a conviction for tax evasion, and an arrest for cocaine possession and soliciting prostitution." In 2005, however, she filed for divorce. By that point, Strawberry had been in trouble with the law on one additional occasions, filing a false police report in September 2005 claiming his SUV had been stolen. It was discovered he'd lent it to someone but and lied about it to the police. 
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  (#10) He Met His Third Wife - And Ministry Partner - At A Meeting For Drug Addicts

  Strawberry met Tracy, his third wife, at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. They became friends and, according to Strawberry, understood each other. Tracy was a born again Christian and helped Darryl return to church and dedicate his life to God. The two married in 2006 and formed the Darryl Strawberry Foundation for kids with autism.  Strawberry has gone on to become an ordained minister, an author, and a community spokesperson. In 2011, he founded the Darryl Strawberry Ministries and currently is affiliated with two drug and alcohol treatment centers in Florida.  

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