STRAWBERRY DEALS FOREVER

Like all drug addicts, Darryl Strawberry is as predictable as the night
following the day. He'll say all the right things when he's on the spot,
only to do all the wrong things when he's on his own. Strawberry has being
doing all the wrong things for years.

In fact, his record as a sullen ingrate with little respect for the law was
firmly in place long before drug addiction put a great big exclamation
point on it.

Last month, after having once again gone on a drug spree, Strawberry
appeared before Hillsborough County, Fla., Judge Florence Foster on a
charge of violating his probation for yet another time.

Fed up with Strawberry's persistent disregard of the law, prosecutors asked
the court to sentence him to a period of 18 months in jail. They argued
that, at the very least, it was necessary to make sure that Strawberry
remained sober for a decent period of time.

However, in an incredible display of naivete, Judge Foster decided to give
Strawberry another thoroughly undeserved chance and ordered that he undergo
treatment at Phoenix House, a private facility in Ocala. In rendering her
judgment, the judge told Strawberry, "You're at bat in the bottom of the
ninth inning with two strikes against you. You have proven you're a winner
on the field. Now you must prove you're a winner off the field."

In truth, Strawberry is a loser both in the game of baseball and the game
of life. Endowed with great speed, a natural swing and enormous power, he
was being inducted in the Hall of Fame even before he hit the Major
Leagues. The only thing that could have derailed the inevitable was
Strawberry, himself. As it turned out, he was more than up to the task.

Almost from the outset, reports surfaced of his being a source of
dissension in the clubhouse. Some teammates, frustrated at his lack of work
ethic, accused Strawberry of not giving it his all on the playing field.
Others called him lazy. Either way, he began forging a lousy reputation for
himself, one that would cause him to bounce from team to team.

When the Mets won the World Series in 1986, only Darryl Strawberry put a
damper on the event. After giving the Mets an insurance run by hitting a
home run late in Game 7, Strawberry stubbornly refused to shake Manager
Davey Johnson's because of some feud he insisted on perpetuating with him.
This, after Ray Knight, one of the Mets most popular players, met him as he
crossed home plate and urged him to bury the hatchet for the sake of the
moment. Hence, above the banner headline "Love Ya, Mets," with which one
Manhattan tabloid memorialized the Mets win, was a small insert announcing,
"Straw rejects Ray's Peace Bid."

Even then -- even in winning the World Series -- Strawberry couldn't do the
right thing. It would be, however, only the beginning of a long,
disgraceful course of conduct.

In January of 1987, Strawberry's wife sued him for separation, alleging
that he had struck her during an argument and broke her nose. Three years
later, he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon after having
allegedly hit her in the face and threatened her with a gun. He was
released on $12,000 bail. In an effort to divert prosecution on the charge,
Strawberry entered an alcohol rehabilitation clinic. Subsequently,
prosecutors decided not to pursue the case.

Three years later, he was arrested again, this time for allegedly striking
the woman with whom he was living at the time. Once again, prosecutors
declined to prosecute the case. The day after, Strawberry announced that he
had been seriously thinking of killing himself because of all the trouble
he was having. The next day, he essentially recanted the statement.

In April, 1994, while a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Strawberry
admitted to having a substance-abuse problem and entered the Betty Ford
rehabilitation center in California. Later that year, he was indicted on a
charge of failing to pay taxes on more than $500,000 earned from autograph
sessions. The matter eventually resulted in an order directing him to repay
$350,000 in back taxes.

Although also sentenced to confinement at home for six months, he was given
the privilege of leaving in order to play both home and road baseball
games. In other words, the confinement was a joke.

In June, 1995, after the Yankees reached an agreement for his services on
the field, Strawberry promptly rewarded them for their confidence when he
was brought to court for failure to pay over $300,000 in child and spousal
support.

Now, bear in mind that all this occurred before he was diagnosed with colon
cancer. In October of 1998, Strawberry underwent surgery to remove a
malignant tumor that was obstructing his intestine. He would subsequently
undergo chemotherapy after it was discovered that the cancer had spread to
a lymph node. Like millions of others afflicted with this horrible disease,
Strawberry would now be in a fight for his life. Unfortunately, neither the
tragedy nor the avalanche of prayers and sympathy it brought would alter
his destructive behavior.

Two months after being named spokesman for the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Strawberry was charged with possession of
cocaine and soliciting a prostitute. He chose not to contest the charges,
was placed on probation for 18 months and directed to perform 100 hours of
community service.

Nine months later, he tested positive for cocaine and was suspended from
baseball for the third time in 10 years for drug involvement.

In March, 2000, Strawberry checked himself into a drug-rehabilitation
facility, only to check himself out of the place three months later.
Subsequently, he was arrested once again for violating his parole and
testing positive for cocaine. Shortly after being sentenced to two years
house arrest at a drug-treatment center, Strawberry left the place and went
on the four-day drug binge that brought him before Judge Foster.

Now against that record, the chances are of Strawberry's complying with the
latest dose of leniency handed out to him by the court system is a big, fat
zero. No, it's not the bottom of the ninth with two strikes on Strawberry.
In fact, the game ended long ago when the guy with all that talent struck
out for the umpteenth time. All that he can do now is hope that after the
inevitable next time around, he meets up with another judge who can't read
the scorebook.

Because he's a human being, I sincerely hope that Strawberry will somehow
turn it around and make something of his life. But when it comes to
profound sympathy, I'll save that for the millions of people afflicted with
cancer who treat their spouses with love and respect, support their kids,
pay their taxes and eschew illegal drugs, all without having had the
opportunity of earning millions of dollars playing a kids' game.