- Image by wallyg via Flickr
It was cliche back in the 80s, but Darryl Strawberry was one of those guys you waited around to see. If there was a chance he would hit in the inning, you’d skip that trip to the Shea beer stands. You’d stay close to television. Hell, you’d sit in the car and listen to Bob Murphy a bit longer. Just to see what would happen.
Strawberry was that kind of player. I’ve always liked Darryl – from his introduction to New York fans as a top draft pick – the “black Ted Williams,” a tall, stringy outfielder with a long, loping swing – to his final last-chance at bats with the Yankees. His were the plate appearances you didn’t miss, the four or five times a game when conversation stopped, when you put down the book or the paper and really watched the game, pitch by pitch, swing by swing.
The slightly open stance, the unquiet windmilling of the bat, the nervous glance back to the umpire with every pitch he took – these habits revealed the unsure Strawberry, the young man in the glare not quite comfortable with his talents, not quite sure if everyone liked him. Then the swing, that explosion of wood through the strike zone, and the sound when Darryl connected – a unique sound in those pre-steroid days – a deep, maple-tinged crack. And of course, the long, arcing moonshots to right-field.
Yeah, the road didn’t lead to the Hall of Fame, to 500 homers, to more titles in a Mets uniform. It led to a surly exile in L.A., trouble with substance abuse and the law, and to a battle with cancer. But Straw found some redemption with the Yankees late in his star-crossed career, and he’s settled into an almost avuncular role in his late 40s – part-time instructor, Donald Trump contestant and, dare we say it, one of baseball’s hale fellows well met.
Strawberry and I are almost exactly the same age – Darryl was born 48 years ago last Friday – and I’ve always thought of him as a contemporary. As we roll out this list, you’ll see very few players young than this blogger. That’s just the way it goes, I guess. But for now, let’s hail Darryl Strawberry, All-Time Met Number Two.
Related:
Cleon Jones – My Mets All-Time Top 10
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