Darryl Strawberry (Part One) Rookie of the Year to World Champion (1983 - 1986)

Darryl Eugene Strawberry was born March 12, 1962, in the Crenshaw area of Los Angeles, California. He has an older brother & two sisters as well.

Family Drama: Darryl's mother Ruby was married to his father Henry until he was ten years old. His father was an alcoholic, wife & child beater. When Darryl was ten, the police were called to the house after anther domestic dispute & he never returned. It was a relief as Darryl wouldn't have to worry about him or his mother getting beaten again.

Henry Strawberry was good softball player & did pass on the love of the game to his son. The sport was an escape for the troubled young Darryl & Darryl he excelled in the sport he now fell in love with.

Darryl became a star baseball player as early as in grade school. By high school baseball he was a local star in Crenshaw high on a good ball club. 

By this time he became a highly touted MLB prospect. All of sudden his long-lost father
reappeared & so did other relatives that he had not seen in years. In Strawberry's junior year of high school his team played the L.A. City Championship in Dodgers Stadium, they lost the game Granda Hills, whose third baseman was future Bronco's quarterback, John Elway.

By Darryl's senior year, Sports Illustrated magazine did an article on him. They raved how the ball flew off his bat & compared his body build to a young Ted Williams. Darryl's famous batting stance had him stand tall as his long arms stroked a powerful looping swing with power from a high leg kick, made him one of the most feared sluggers of his era.

#1 Draft Pick: In 1980 the tall six foot six left-handed hitting Strawberry was signed by the New York Mets in the first round, as the number one draft overall pick. The Mets gave him a $200,000 signing bonus to pass up college. They got him to New York to promote him at a press conference. The team was in bad shape & the new ownership needed to promote something good right away. The Darryl Strawberry hype was just beginning.

 

In 1981 he began at A ball Lynchburg hitting 13 HRs, with 31 stolen bases & 78 RBIs in 105 games played. Even in the early stages of his career, he would show up late & had a poor work ethic. These things would haunt him his entire career & life.

In 1982 as AA Jackson, he was the Texas League MVP hitting 34 HRs with 45 stolen bases, 97 RBIs batting .283. In 1983, he was promoted to AAA Tidewater after 16 games he was hitting .333 & was promoted to the Mets big league team in May. The promotion received lots of attention & media coverage. At this point The Mets were slowly improving & were desperate for Strawberry's debut.

Mets Career: Strawberry debuted on May 6th, 1983, at Shea Stadium in front of 15,916 fans in a 7-4 win against the Cincinnati Reds. He batted third in the line up in front of Dave Kingman. Although he struck out three times, he also dew a pair of walks & scored his first career run. 

Two nights later in a 10-5 Mets win over Cincinnati at Shea, he got his first career hit, a single off the Reds Ben Hayes driving in Danny Heep for his first career RBI. 

First Career HR: On May 16th, Strawberry hit his first career HR, it came in Pittsburgh off of the Pirates Lee Tunnell in an 11-4 Mets win. 

He hit another the next day, his first at home in Shea Stadium a three-run shot coming off the Padres Tim Lollar, in a Mets 6-3 win over San Diego. Two games later he hit his third HR & was gaining positive reviews.

In June manager George Bamberger resigned & big Frank Howard took over. A former slugger himself, Howard pushed for Strawberry to produce more. Strawberry didn't get over the .200 mark until late June. Howard had Mets coach Jim Frey work with him on his hitting. 

On June 12th he drove in three runs in a 9-1 win over the Expos. 

Four RBI Game: On June 22nd, in the first game of a double header with the Cardinals at Shea, Darryl hit a three run HR off Bob Forsch, then an RBI double off Jim Kaat as he drove in four runs in a game for the first time in his career, leading Tom Seaver & the Mets to a 6-4 win. 

At the trade deadline the Mets pulled off a huge deal that brought Keith Hernandez to New York. With Hernandez, George Foster & lots of young talent behind Strawberry on the horizon, the Mets future was bright as things got better.

On June 26th in the second game of a twin bill with the Phillies, Darryl hit a solo HR off & a two run triple off Ed Farmer, leading the Mets to a 6-4 victory & a double header sweep.

Five RBI Game: On June 28th, as Keith Hernandez returned to St. Louis in a Mets uniform the Mets beat up the Cards at Bush Stadium 10-1. Darryl enjoyed a big game, hitting two HRs off Bob Forsch, a 5th inning three run shot & a solo shot. He added an RBI to have a season high five RBI game.

Multi RBI Games: Darryl would have 18 multi-RBI games on the season, with ten games where he drove in three or more runs. He was quickly becoming a fan favorite at Shea Stadium & seeing all New York had to offer a young star. He was the new face of the organization & had a lot of pressure put on the young man. 

By the All Star break he was struggling in batting average, hitting just above the .200 mark although he had already hit ten HRs. 

On July 10th, his 8th inning two run HR off The Astros Bill Dawley led to a 7-5 win over in Houston. 

Multi HR Game: On July 19th, he had his second multi-HR game, with a pair off the Braves Pasqual Perez in a 7-4 Met loss. 

On July 22nd in Cincinnati, with the Mets were down 2-1 to the Reds in the 9th inning, Keith Hernandez tied the game with a HR.  Straw followed going back-to-back to give the Mets the 3-2 after Jesse Orosco came in for the save.

Multi HR Games: In August Darryl opened the month with three HRs in his first four games. During the last nine days of the month, he had two separate multi-HR games. 

On August 23rd in San Diego, he hit two off Eric Show in a 4-3 Met win.  On August 27th at Shea, he hit HRs off the Giants Atlee Hammaker & Greg Minton in a 6-3 Mets victory. The HRs had him reach 20 on the season. That August he hit 9 HRs& had 17 RBIs in the month. 

In September he hit five more HRs & drove in another 17 runs. 

Multi RBI Game: On September 1st, in a 7-3 win over the Padres, Darryl hit a 3rd inning RBI triple to put the Mets on the board. In the 7th inning he hit a three run HR off Sid Monge to have his third four RBI Game of the season.

From the September 9th through September 13th, he hit three HRs with six RBIs on a road trip at Montreal & Philadelphia. 

On September 12th & 13th, he hit HRs in back-to-back games at Philadelphia. 

On September 28th, he hit his last HR of the season, a two-run shot off the Pirates Lee Tunnel, he added another to lead the Mets to a 4-2 win at Pittsburgh. 

1983 Rookie of the Year Award: Darryl became the second Met to win the NL ROY Award. He also made the Topps All Star Rookie team hitting 26 HRs (7th in the NL) with seven triples, 15 doubles, 19 stolen bases, 63 runs scored & 74 RBIs while hitting .257. 

He struck out the second most times in the NL (128) walked 47 times, posted a .336 on base5 & .848 OPS. He also posted the league's ninth best slugging % (.512%). 

In the right field he was third in fielding (983%) & had nine assists (4th in the NL). 

Drug Use: That year Darryl said he began to use cocaine, it was widespread throughout baseball as well as everywhere else at the tie. The next year he said he began using amphetamines as well.  Darryl began to enjoy all the pleasures, good & bad, hat New York stardom brought to him. Women, drugs & alcohol all became an addiction.

1984: This season with a mix of veterans & good young players, under new manager Davey Johnson, the Mets had a solid ball club contending for the NL East title.  The enjoyed their first winning season since 1976. 

Strawberry was a big part of the success as well as his new teammates Keith Hernandez & 18-year-old rookie phenom pitcher Dwight Gooden. It was an exciting year at Shea Stadium, the start of a winning way that would last into the 90's.

Three HRs Opening Week: Darryl began the year with an Opening Day HR, the only run the Mets scored in an 8-1 loss to the Reds at Cincinnati. On April 7th, Darryl's solo HR off the Astros Bob Knepper helped the Mets in a 3-2 win at Houston. Three days later his solo HR in Montreal off Craig McMurty helped in a 4-2 Mets win. Straw hit .375 with three HRs that first week of the season.

Four Hit- Multi RBI Game: On April 22nd, had had four hit-four RBI Day at Philadelphia, led by a three run HR, although the Mets lost the game 12-5. It was the first of six games where he would drive in four or more runs.

The next day he drove in two more runs in a loss in Montreal. On April 28th, as the Phillies came to Shea, Darryl tied up the game, with an 9th inning HR off Charlie Hudson. New York went on to win it in the 9th on a walk off double from short timer, Ross Jones. 

Strawberry Sunday: The next day the Mets celebrated Strawberry in an event called Strawberry Sunday. Sunday. The fans received free strawberry ice cream sundae's as he was presented his 1983 Rookie of the Year Award in a pregame event.  The Mets beat the Phillies that day, as former Mets legend Jerry Koosman pitched for the Phillies. Strawberry collected two hits & a walk while scoring a run.

In April Strawberry would bat .324 with 5 HRs & 12 RBIs. But in May he fell into a slump where he did not hit any HRs driving in just six runs.  In June the slump continued, he batted just .221 but did hit 4 HRs with 14 RBIs.

On June 4th, in Pittsburgh, he hit 1st inning two run HR off Don Robinson & then added an RBI hit later leading Ron Darling to a 4-2 victory. Two days later on June 6th, his top of the 13th inning single off the Pirates Rod Scurry won the 2-1 squeaker for New York. 

Multi HR Game: On June 17th in a loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, he hit a pair of solo HRs off Ricky Horton & Bruce

Sutter. 

Two games later, on June 20th, with the score tied at 2-2 in the 3rd inning at Shea, he hit a three-run HR off Hall of Fame veteran Steve Carlton leading Ron Darling to a 7-4 win over Philadelphia.

On July 1st, in the first game of a double header, he drove in both Mets runs in a 2-1 win over Atlanta. 

On July 5th the Mets began a five-game series with the Reds at home. They swept all five games with Darryl collecting seven hits, five extra base hits, two HRs & 8 RBIs. In the first game, a 4-3 win over the Red at Shea Stadium, Straw hit a two-run 1st inning HR off Joe Price to lead the way. 

Four RBI Game: On July 7th, he hit his 11th HR of the year, it came off Mario Soto. He added an RBI single, bases loaded walk & fielder's choice driving in four runs in the Mets 14-4 win. The next day he collected two more hits with two more RBIs in the Mets 7-3 win.

1984 All Star Game: That summer he made the first of his eight All Star appearances, representing the Mets along with Keith Hernandez, Jesse Orosco & Dwight Gooden at the Mid-Summer Classic in San Francisco latest phenom of the league. Straw got the start in right field & got a hit going 1-3, in the National League's 3-1 win at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. In that game Gooden struck out the side of American Leaguers in the 5th inning.

Player of the Week Award: Toward the end of July Daryl had a stretch hitting four HRs with four straight multi-hit games driving in 11 runs winning the Player of the Week award. 

On July 19th & 20th, he hit HRs in back-to-back games at Cincinnati, continuing his bashing of Reds pitching. On July 22nd, his 8th inning, two run HR off the Reds Keefe Cato broke the 5-5 tie & led to the Mets final win. In the four-game series he helped the Mets take three of four, with eight hits, three HRs & six RBIs in the series. 

Trivia: That year in 12 games against the Reds, he batted .367 with nine extra base hits, six HRs 15 RBIs & three stolen bases.

When the Mets returned home, he added an RBI in a win over the Cardinals where Wally Backman provided the walk off hit. On July 25th he hit a three run HR off the Cardinals' Kurt Kepshire & added another RBI in a 9-3 win. Overall, in July he had 30 hits with 8 HRs & 28 RBIs, hitting safely in 21 of 29 games. 

In August he went into a HR drought where he didn't hit ay HRs & a slump saw his average fell to .247. 

The Mets started September 75-59, five games in back of the Cubs. 

Six RBI Double Header: On September 1st, Strawberry started the month hitting HRs in both ends of a double header sweep of the Padres at Shea Stadium. He collected four hits & six RBIs in the two games. In the night cap he had his fourth game where he drove in four runs on the season, leading to the 10-6 win. 

Straw would then hit two more HRs that same week as well. 

On September 7th, in the heat of a pennant race, in one of the most exciting games at Shea Stadium in an exciting season, 46,301 fans including centerfieldmaz watched Dwight Gooden toss a 10-0 one hit shut out over the first place Cubs. The only hit coming on a controversial call on a Ray Knight boot at third base. In the 6th inning, Straw hit his 21st HR of the season, coming off veteran Rick Reuschel.

The Mets took two of three in the series but were still six games back & eventually fell out of the race as they lost five of their next six games. 

Five RBI Day: Straw had nine muti RBI games in September. On September 16th at Wrigley Field he had three hits, with a season high five RBIs. In the 7th inning he hit a three run HR off Ron Meredith, for his 22nd HR of the year. He added a two-run single off Steve Trout in the 6th inning.

Four RBI Game Winning HR Game: On September 18th, two days later in Philadelphia, he faced Al Holland in the 9th inning with the score tied at five. Darryl hit was the game winner, a three-run shot scoring Mookie Wilson & Ron Gardenhire.

Darryl would finish the 1984 season leading the team in HRs (26) & RBIs (97) -fourth most in the NL. He batted .251, stole 27 bases with 131 hits 27 doubles 4 triples &75 runs scored. He walked 75 times, posted a .354 on base % & .810 OPS. Darryl struck out often, going down on strikes 131 times.

In right field he had nine assists with eleven total outfield assists on the year, posting a .980 fielding %.

1985: In the off season the Mets acquired All Star catcher Gary Carter to top off their team with one of the final pieces of the puzzle for a championship. The Mets now had developed into one of the best teams in the league & the expectations were high. 

The fans were filling Shea Stadium every game as it was an electrifying experience at that time. There were high fives, curtain calls, the wave & the K Korner on night Dwight Gooden "Dr. K" pitched in his Cy Young season. 

By 1985, Strawberry developed into one of the league's best sluggers getting known for his monstrous long HRs, run production & base stealing. 

Walk Off HR: On April 13th, in the third game of the season, Straw came to bat in the bottom of
the 9th inning of a 1-1 tie with Reds. Facing future Met & one of the game's best relievers, John Franco, Darryl hit a walk off HR for his first career walk off game winner. 

That April he hit six HRs in the month of April, while driving in 12 runs. 

Grand Slam: On April 28th he hit his first career grand slam HR, coming off Pittsburgh's Mike
Bielecki, leading the team to 5-4 win over the Pirates. 

On May 11th, he injured his thumb & missed 40 games until the end of June. 

When he returned, he returned he was batting just .208 & dropped to .200 by July 1st. But he raised his average fifty points during the month batting .303 with 27 hits, 6 HRs & 23 RBIs. He also drew 21 walks & stole nine bases in the month.

1985 All Star Game: Darryl made his second All Star start in right field for the NL at the 6-1 win in the Metrodome at Minnesota. He went 1-2 with a single & a walk off the Tigers Jack Morris while scoring two runs.

Grand Slam HR & 7 RBI Day: On July 20th he had a huge day in Atlanta, hitting a 1st inning
grand slam off the Braves, Steve Bedrosian. Daryl added a three run HR off Len Barker in the fourth inning, giving him a season best seven RBI game in the Mets 16-4 win. 

Multi HR Game: Later that week he had his second multi-HR of the season, hitting two HRs off the Astros Joe Niekro & driving in all four Mets runs, in a 12-4 loss at Shea. 

Player of the Week Awards: That week he won the Player of the Week Award & then would earn the same honor two weeks later. 

Three HR Game: On August 5th, he had this third & final multi-HR game of the year. Strawberry hit a season high three HRs in a 7-2 win at Wrigley Field. Darryl took Derek Botelho deep twice, first with a three-run 1st inning shot & a 3rd inning solo shot. 

In the 7th inning, hit added a solo blast off Ron Meredith. Darryl drove in five runs & reached 15 HRs on the season, while leading Ed Lynch to the victory. That day the Mets took over first place in the NL East.

The next day he hit his 16th HR of the year in a 14-7 win at Montreal. That week, Darryl would drive in runs in four straight games & collected nine hits. 

Multi RBI Games: From August 22nd to August 25th, he had two more multi-RBI games where he drove in four runs. On August 22nd he hit a two run HR off the Giants veteran Vida Blue, plus a two-run single off Mike Jeffcoat helping Terry Leach in a 7-0 shut out at Shea Stadium. 

On August 25th, in an exciting game at Shea where Dwight Gooden won his 29th game, Straw had a big day on offense. He had a three game, hitting his 20th HR of the season, coming off the Padres Eric Show. Overall, he drove in four runs in the 9-3 Mets win. 

That August he would bat .313, hit nine HRs & drive in 22 runs. 

The Mets began September two games in back of the rival, St. Louis Cardinals. On September 2nd Darryl hit a triple & drove in three runs in the 12-4 win at San Diego. The next day he homered off the Padres Dave Dravecky, in an 8-3 win over San Diego.

On September 6th in a classic pitching matchup of Dwight Gooden & the Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela in L.A. Daryll drove in both Mets runs of the 2-0 Mets win. 

Dwight Gooden shut out the Dodgers for nine innings & Fernando Valenzuela blanked the Mets for 11 innings. 

In the top of the 13 inning, his ground rule double off Tom Niedenfuer scored Rafael Santana & Wally Backman for the only runs of the game. Jesse Orosco completed the combined Mets shut out in the bottom frame.

On September 12th the Mets took two of three in a big series with the Cardinals at Shea Stadium,

to put them back in first place, up by one game in the NL East. 

In the four-run 1st inning, Darryl hit one of three straight Mets doubles off Joquin Andujar. Keith Hernandez won the game with a walk off hit off Ken Dayley. In the next two games Darryl had two hits two walks & a run scored.

During the pennant race of September, Strawberry he hit eight HRs driving in 22 runs. 

Classic HR off the Clock in St. Louis: On October 1st the Mets came to St Louis for a huge series against the first place Cardinals trailing by three games. 

In the first game, Rn Darling & Jesse Orosco shut out the Cards for ten innings. John Tudor did the same to the Mets. In the top of the 11th inning, Strawberry he hit a memorable mammoth HR off the clock tower at Busch Stadium off reliever Ken Dayley. It led the Mets to the 1-0 win.

Darryl was held hitless the next night as the Mets took the first two games; they won two of three in the series & left St. Louis two games back with three left to play.

Strawberry would help the Mets with three RBIs in their 9-4 win against the Expos. But they lost their last two games & were not able to catch the Cardinals.

Strawberry finished the year with 29 HRs (6th in the NL). He batted .277 with 109 hits 15 doubles 4 triples & 79 RBIs. s Straw stole 26 bases walked 73 times with a .389 on base %& 947 OPS. He also struck out 96 times.

Trivia: It was the only year in an eleven-year stretch when he struck out less than 100 times or more. 

In right field he posted a .994 fielding % which was second in the league.

Marriage: In 1985 Strawberry married Lisa Andrews, together they would have two children with. Thier marriage would also be filled with Darryl drama.

1986 Championship Season: In the 1986 Mets championship season, it was almost a given that the Mets would dominate the league. Even Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog conceded the NL East to the Mets early on in the season.

Partying, Girls & Drugs: It was a wild year for the Mets off the field as well. The tales became legendary for partying hard, womanizing, drinking, drugs, fights, night club antics & destruction on team flights. In later years Darryl said he would choose a girl in the crowd & have a clubhouse attendant go escort her into the clubhouse where he would have sex between innings.

Through it all the team was cocky, confidant & won a lot of games as well as a World Series. The home fans loved them, but it seemed everyone else in the league hated them.

Shaving His Head: Strawberry started out the year losing a bet to Kevin Mitchell & had Mitchell shave his head bald. It was highly publicized & the antic were just beginning.

On Opening Day, Straw went 1-1 with a double & three walks, as Dwight Gooden beat the Pirates 4-2 at Pittsburgh. 

Just as the Mets team did that season, Straw got off to a good start in April by hitting safely in 20 of his first 25 games, raising his average to .313.

Multi RBI Games: At the end of the month, he had a huge series in Atlanta. On April 29th he had the first of four-four RBI games on the season. After driving in a run early on, he hit a three run HR Craig McMurty in the 10-5 victory.

Five Hit Day: On April 30th, in an 8-1 win he had his season best five-hit game. Straw hit a two run HR off Joe Johnson, with an RBI base hit. Overall, he had three singles, a double & the HR. 

In that three-game series he had 

On May 4th, on that same road trip the hit two HRs in a 7-2 win at Cincinnati.

Strawberry Drama:  With all the fame & glory, there came lots of drama. At times Darryl would show up late or never arrive for work outs. He disrupted team meetings had infamous arguments & fights with his teammates. Like many superstars, Straw would produce & had things overlooked. He was still popular & a key figure in the Mets Championship season, as well as their success in the eighties. 

After a HR in early May, he went into a rut, he didn't hit another HR for a month & batted just .208 in the month. In June he hit picked things up, batting .352 with four HRs 7 doubles 12 RBIs & nine stolen bases.  

Walk Off Hit: On June 13th he

came to bat in the bottom of the 9th inning in a 5-5 tie with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After walking Keith Hernandez intentionally to get to Straw, he singled off Pat Clements bringing home the game winning walk off run, for a 6-5 win. 

Multi HR Game: On July 3rd, he hit two HRs against the Astros at Shea, in a preview of that years the NLCS. In the 5th inning, he tied the game with a two run HR off Jim Deshaises.  In the top of the 10th, the Astros went ahead with a Phil Garner HR off Jesse Orosco. 

 In the bottom of the 10th inning Darryl tied it back up with a two run HR off Frank Dipino. Ray Knight would win the game with a walk off HR three at bats later. 

When the Mets went to Houston, Strawberry would drive in runs in three of the four games at the Astrodome, although the Mets lost three of four as the rivalry heated up. 

Bench Clearing Brawl: On July 11th, in a home game against the Braves, Gary Carter hit a grand slam HR off David Palmer putting the Mets up 7-0. Strawberry was the next batter, Palmer hit him with the pitch & Darryl charged the mound. Palmer eluded Strawberry as the benches cleared & all out brawl endued.

1986 All Star: At the All-Star break Strawberry had 13 HRs and made another start for the NL in right field. 

In the 1986 All Star Game he, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter & Dwight Gooden all got the start & Sid Fernandez was in the bullpen for the game held in the Houston Astrodome, Straw went 1-2 in the National Leagues 3-2 loss singling off Teddy Higuera in the 5th inning.

 
Mets Team Drama in Houston: After the break, the Mets went on a road trip landing in Houston from July 17th thru the 20th. Four Mets players, Ron Darling, Tim Teufel, Rick Aguilera & Bobby Ojeda were arrested after being involved in a brawl with off duty police officers posing as security guards at a Houston night club. 

On July 17th, in the first game of the series, Straw had a three RBI game in the Mets big 13-2 win.
Two days later, he came back with a two run HR off Dave Smith in the 5-4 loss. On July 27th-28th he would hit HRs in back-to-back games reaching 16 for the year & was batting a strong .285. 

At the start of August, Darryl drove in runs in four straight games which the Mets won all four. On August 18th in Los Angles Straw hit a two run HR off Orel Hershiser & drove in another run with an RBI single leading to a 5-4 win. He went on to drive in runs in the next three games as well, 

On August 27th, he drove in two runs with a single in the 1st inning & then added a two run HR off the Padres Ed Whitson, as the Mets beat San Diego 6-5 to complete a sweep of their entire West Coast Road trip. It was part of an eleven-game win streak that gave them a twenty-game lead of first place.

NL East Clincher: On September 17th, centerfieldmaz & a full house at Shea Stadium, was on hand to witness the Mets capture their first NL east title since 1973.

After a young Dave Magadan who was playing for an injured Keith Hernandez at first base, drove in the first run of the game, Straw followed with another RBI single, putting the Mets up 2-0 over the Chicago Cubs. That night the Mets won the game 4-2 & clinched the East. Doc Gooden won his 15th game of the year & pitched the complete game. The Mets fans celebrated by taking over the field. 

In the final eleven games of the year, Strawberry hit six HRs & drove in 15 runs. 

Four RBI games: On September 28th, Darryl drove in all four Met runs in a 4-1 win over the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He started out with an RBI single, then in the top of the 11th, he won the game with a three run HR off Bob Walk.

He closed out the last four games of the regular season with three HRs & nine RBIs.

Grand Slam HR: On October 5th, in a 9-0 shut out over Pittsburgh, the final game of the regular season, he hit his second career grand slam, a 5th inning shot off the Pirates Ray Krawczyk. It was Darryl's 27th HR of the season. It was his 20th multi-RBI game of the year, the fifth game where he drove in four runs. 

On the 1986 Championship season he would lead the club, with 27 HRs (5th in the NL) 93 RBIs (7th in the league) 27 doubles & five triples. He would steal 26 bases (second on the club to Len Dykstra) bat .259 & score 76 runs. He struck out a career high 141 times, while walking 72 times posting a .358 on base % & .865 OPS. 

In right field he had ten assists (5th most in the league) posting a .975 fielding %. 

1986 Post Season- NLCS: In the NLCS against the Houston Astros, Strawberry went 1-4 in Game #1 at the Astrodome, striking out twice against Mike Scott in the 1-0 loss.

In Game #2 he went 0-3 with a 4th inning sac fly RBI off Nolan Ryan in the Mets 5-1 win, evening the series.

Game # 3 was the first playoff game played at Shea Stadium in 13 years. In the 6th inning the Mets were down 4-0, they got lead off singles from Kevin Mitchell & Keith Hernandez. After Gary Carter reached on an error, scoring Mitchell, Strawberry blasted a three run HR off Bob Knepper tying the game. Straw would go 2-4 in the game.

He went hitless in Game #4 then had another memorable HR in Game #5. After the rain stopped & the sun began to break through the Shea skies, Strawberry came to bat in the 5th inning down 1-0. He hit a Nolan Ryan pitch with a long shot down the left field line that cleared the foul pole, tying the score 1-1.

 It was a classic among classics, one of the best games centerfieldmaz ever had the pleasure to attend. Dwight Gooden pitched ten innings holding down Hoston to a run. Nolan Ryan pitched nine innings allowing just the Strawberry the HR. The Mets went on to win the game on Gary Carters walk off RBI single in the 12th inning. 

In the epic Game # 6 back at the Astrodome, Daryl went 1- 5 but scored two very important late runs. 

In the 14th inning he drew a walk off Aurelio Lopez, then advanced to second then scored the go-
ahead run-on Wally Backman's base hit. The Astros tied the game in the bottom of the 14th on Bill Hatcher's HR.

Strawberry doubled to lead off the 16th inning & scored the go-ahead run-on Ray Knights base hit. The Mets put up three runs in the inning. Jesse Orosco gave up two more runs in the 16th but the Mets held on to win the game 7-4, win the pennant & advance to the World Series.

Overall, Straw hit .227 (5-22) with two HRs five RBIs three walks in the Series with four runs scored & 12 strikeouts.

1986 World Series: In the 1986 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Daryl began by struggling at the plate. The Mets lost the first two games & Darryl went hitless in both of the games at Shea. 

"Daaaarryl": By the time the Mets & Strawberry got to Fenway Park for Game #3, the Red Sox fans let him have it. As he was standing in his position in right field the Boston fans began to taunt him with the chants of “Daaaarryl”"Daaaaarryl".  

In response he jokingly tipped his hat to the Fenway Faithful. That chant would become
legendary, soon being heard both on the road & at home in Shea Stadium for years to come. 

This incident led to the Mets fans returning taunts, as they would chant “Caaaalvin” "Caaaalvin" toward Red Sox relief pitcher Calvin Schiraldi at Shea Stadium in Games six & seven. Calvin was a Mets pitcher in the early 1980's.
 
In Game #3 with the Mets ahead 6-1, Darryl got his first hit of the Series, a single off native New Yorker Joe Sambito of Long Island. Straw scored on Ray Knight's double.

In Game #4 Straw doubled in the 4th inning after Gary Carter hit a two run HR. He scored on Ray Knights single making it 3-0 Mets. In the 8th, Straw would single again. The Mets went on to a 6-2-win, evening the series at two games each. He collected another hit in the Game #5 loss.

In the classic "Game #6" Straw went 0-2 with a pair of walks. In the 5th inning he scored again on another Ray Knight hit with the Mets first run. 

In the 9th inning with the score tied at 3-3, Manager Davey Johnson made a double switch putting Lee Mazzilli in right field & bringing in Rick Aguilera to pitch. 

Game Six Drama: Straw was upset that Johnson had pulled him out of the game. In the dugout he complained to his manager, then went off to pout in the locker room. 

Although the move ended up working well for the Mets as they had one of the best World Series comebacks in history, Straw was still upset & missed the celebration on the field after the game since he was already out of uniform.

In Game #7 he had perhaps his biggest hit, it came on the bottom of the 8th inning. The Mets were ahead 5-3 after a Ray Knight HR off Calvin Schiraldi, then a Rafael Santana RBI single in the 7th. 

Strawberry sealed the victory with a solo HR to lead off the 8th inning off reliever Al Nipper. After striking out Marty Barrett for the final out of the 9th inning, the Mets were World Champions.

Strawberry celebrated with the team on the field & in the clubhouse afterwards. He made it to the celebration victory Parade in New York City the next day as well. It was a great time to be a Met even with all that drama that surrounded it, they were World Champions.

World Series Stats: In the World Series he batted just .208 going 5-2 with four walks & three stolen bases. He a double a HR drove in a run & scored four runs.