Strawberry Suspended for Season

VERO BEACH, Fla. â€”  A 17-year career characterized by talent and turmoil might have ended Monday when baseball Commissioner Bud Selig suspended Darryl Strawberry for the season--Strawberry’s third drug-related suspension.

The New York Yankees’ primary designated hitter, Strawberry tested positive for cocaine Jan. 19, a violation of baseball’s drug policy and the terms of his probation for an arrest last April for cocaine possession and solicitation of prostitution.

Although the Florida Department of Corrections was lenient in response to the probation violation, recommending only increased treatment sanctions and continued testing two or three times a week rather than jail time, Selig said there was no choice but to issue a meaningful and--since Strawberry turns 38 on March 12--career-threatening suspension.

“This was a very difficult and painful decision for me to make,� Selig said. “The meeting I had with Darryl and his wife, Charisse, last Tuesday [in Milwaukee] was a very emotional experience for all of us. I had no doubt that his remorse and sorrow were genuine, and I worried about the effect my decision would have on his health and the welfare of his family.

“In the end, I could not ignore Darryl’s past infractions and concluded that each of us must be held accountable for his or her actions. I am hopeful he will use this time away from the game productively and will care for himself and his family.�

Strawberry, however, may not serve the full suspension.

Officials of the Major League Players Assn. did not return phone messages, but the union is likely to file a grievance, seeking to reduce the penalty, although it is a third strike. Strawberry was suspended for 60 days in 1995 because of cocaine possession and missed 113 games last year because of his April arrest.

Even so, he has some catching up to do with former pitcher Steve Howe, who had already been suspended seven times for alcohol and substance abuse violations when former commissioner Fay Vincent tried to suspend him for life in 1992. Arbitrator George Nicolau, responding to a union grievance, ruled that Vincent lacked just cause and reinstated Howe.

In weighing the extent of this latest suspension, Selig and others had been concerned about Strawberry’s physical and financial health if the father of four--with a fifth child on the way--were stripped of a future in baseball. However, two of Strawberry’s closest friends suggested that Strawberry needs to forget about baseball as a safety net and focus strictly on his life and family.

Eric Davis, his former Los Angeles school chum now with the St. Louis Cardinals, said he was “hurt, upset and angry� when he heard Strawberry tested positive again.

“You want to say, ‘Enough is enough,’ � Davis said. “You want to say that ‘At some point you have to put your life in perspective.’ There is more than baseball at stake. Darryl needs to get the proper help and he needs to do it for himself, not anybody else.�

Dwight Gooden agreed. Gooden shared the night life with Strawberry when they were young phenoms with the New York Mets. He too battled the demons of drug and alcohol abuse, missing the 1995 season under suspension.

“My first reaction when I heard about Darryl was a feeling of sadness and concern for his family,� said Gooden, trying to stick with the Houston Astros. “I didn’t want to believe it, but that didn’t last long because I know how easily it can happen. As a recovering addict myself, I know the hold it has on you. I know it’s a lifetime commitment and battle and you have to fight it for yourself. Darryl needs to clear his mind of baseball. He needs to focus on his life.�

No one has been more supportive of Strawberry in recent years than Yankee owner George Steinbrenner.

“I’m sure George is wounded by this but the bigger feeling is hoping Darryl will be all right and we don’t know that at this point,� Manager Joe Torre said. “You just wish he had been able to fight this other fight a little better.�

The Yankees had planned to platoon Strawberry and Jim Leyritz at DH. Torre said it was too soon to know how it will play out, but Ricky Ledee and Shane Spencer may get DH time, as well as Leyritz and Tim Raines.

General Manager Brian Cashman said he was not in a “reactionary mode� and not inclined to trade. He has talked with the Angels about the possible acquisition of either Jim Edmonds or Darin Erstad, but the Yankees have rejected the Angels’ demand for two of three from among pitcher Ramiro Mendoza, touted shortstop prospect Alfonso Soriano and Ledee.

In his oft-interrupted career, Strawberry hit 335 homers and drove in 1,000 runs in 1,583 games. Torre said he has little doubt the sweet-swinging left-hander would have broken records and made history if he had been available for each game of each season.

Now he may be remembered for another kind of history and Torre added, “It’s a shame. It’s really a shame.�

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The DL

(Drug List)

A list of suspensions handed down by major league baseball involving drugs in the last decade:

* Sept. 16, 1991--Atlanta Brave outfielder Otis Nixon is suspended for 60 days after a positive test for cocaine.

* Feb. 7, 1992--Montreal Expo catcher Gilberto Reyes is suspended for 60 days after a positive test in the Dominican Winter League. After a grievance hearing, arbitrator George Nicolau ruled April 3 that Reyes should be treated as a first-time offender and lifted the suspension.

* March 6, 1992--Yankee pitcher Pascual Perez is suspended for one year after a positive test for cocaine.

* June 8, 1992--Yankee pitcher Steve Howe is suspended indefinitely after entering a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont., to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to buy a gram of cocaine. After a grievance hearing, Nicolau reduced the suspension to time served on Nov. 11, saying Howe was suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder.

* June 28, 1994--New York Met pitcher Dwight Gooden suspended for 60 days for violating his aftercare program, reportedly testing positive for cocaine.

* Nov. 15, 1994--Gooden, who became a free agent Oct. 24, is suspended for the 1995 season for violating his aftercare program, reportedly testing positive for cocaine while on suspension.

* Feb. 6, 1995--San Francisco Giant outfielder Darryl Strawberry is suspended for 60 days after testing positive for cocaine. The Giants immediately release Strawberry.

* Aug. 18, 1997--Angel outfielder Tony Phillips is suspended indefinitely by the team after his Aug. 10 arrest in Los Angeles for felony possession of cocaine. After a grievance hearing Aug. 20, arbitrator Richard I. Bloch immediately lifted the suspension.

* June 18, 1999--Strawberry, with the Yankees on a minor league contract, is suspended for 120 days retroactive to his April 14 arrest in Tampa, Fla., on cocaine possession and solicitation charges he pleaded no contest to. On Aug. 2, Commissioner Bud Selig said suspension will end after Aug. 3.

* Feb. 28, 2000--Strawberry suspended for one year after a positive test for cocaine Jan. 19.