YANKEES' STRAWBERRY IS CHARGED WITH DRUG POSSESSION, SOLICITATION

TAMPA, Fla. -- Darryl Strawberry's turbulent baseball career has taken
another off-field jolt: He has been charged with possession of cocaine with
a street value of about $20 and with soliciting a prostitute.

The New York Yankees outfielder offered a female undercover officer $50 for
sex, Tampa police said after the arrest a few miles from the team's training
complex on Wednesday night.

A search turned up 0.3 grams -- about 1/100th of an ounce -- of powder
cocaine wrapped in a $20 bill inside Strawberry's wallet, police said. He
was booked and released on $6,000 bond early yesterday.

"It appeared for personal use," police spokesman Joe Durkin said. "One-hit
size."

The 37-year-old outfielder told police that the cocaine did not belong to
him and that he never intended to have sex with the undercover officer.

According to the police report, Strawberry said his wife's uncle had used
the vehicle the previous night and that it was possible he might have left
the folded $20 bill in the glove compartment where Strawberry found it
Wednesday.

The eight-time all-star said he was joking around with the undercover
officer about sex and drove off with no intention of meeting her at a nearby
motel room.

Strawberry has been in Tampa to work himself back into shape following
colon-cancer surgery last Oct. 3.

Cocaine possession is a third-degree felony with a maximum penalty of five
years in prison, Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said. The maximum
penalty for solicitation, a misdemeanor, is 60 days in the county jail for a
first offense. After that, the maximum penalty is a year in county jail, she
said.

However, those are general guidelines, Bondi said, indicating that charges
for Strawberry had yet to reach the prosecutor's office.

Lonn Trost, the Yankees' general counsel, declined to comment, saying the
team would allow the legal process to run its course before speaking out.

After the Yankees won the World Series without him last season, Strawberry
was praised by New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani "for the comeback he's
made as a baseball player and the comeback he's making in life."

He was in New York last weekend to receive his World Series ring, but was
not expected to join the Yankees until he completed chemotherapy and a stint
with triple-A Columbus.

Strawberry's list of substance-abuse problems is lengthy.

Major League Baseball suspended him for 60 days in 1995 after he tested
positive for cocaine. The previous year, he had entered the Betty Ford
Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and spent four weeks undergoing treatment
for a substance-abuse problem.

In 1990, while with the New York Mets, he entered the Smithers Center in New
York for alcohol rehabilitation.

In addition to substance abuse, Strawberry also ran afoul of tax laws. In
1995, a federal court ordered him to repay $350,000 in back taxes and
sentenced him to six months of home confinement, except for games.

Strawberry, the National League rookie of the year in 1983 and a World
Series champion with the Mets in 1986, also was accused of failing to make
timely payments to an ex-wife.

He rebounded after signing with the Yankees in June 1995 and had remained
drug-free, with regular testing by Major League Baseball. Strawberry had his
best season in seven years in 1998.

Strawberry has a .250 career average with 332 homers and 994 RBIs in 16
major-league seasons with the Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco
Giants, and Yankees. He led the NL with 39 homers in 1988 and topped 100
RBIs three times with the Mets from 1987-90.