Darryl Strawberry’s Coming to Town

My Dad grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan during their glory days in the 1940s and 50s at Ebbets Field. He had the privilege to watch such greats as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Don Newcombe, Roy Campanella and many more.
His favorite ballplayer was the underrated Dixie Walker. I never got to see “Dem Bums” as they vacated to the west. One thing for sure is that my Father was not going to convert to the hated Yankees after New York lost both their National League teams to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
I came along in 1960 and two years later our beloved New York Mets were born. He and I would share that passion for baseball and that bumbling new team wearing the Orange and Blue playing in Queens for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, my Pop passed away from cancer before the Mets played the Yankees in the 2000 Subway World Series. But we did share the memories of seeing the 1969 Miracle Mets shock the world and the 1986 team that manhandled the rest of the League by winning 108 games.
It would still take a tricky dribbler off the bat of Mookie Wilson that somehow avoided the glove of Bill Buckner to catapult the Metropolitans over the Red Sox. All three of us Rudy’s watched that game together and to this day I still get goosebumps when I watch the replays of that magical moment.
While I loved the way the 1986 World Champion Mets would show swagger on the field, not all was above board when it came to their behavior off the field. That team did include strong Christians like Gary Carter, Ray Knight, Howard Johnson and the already mentioned Mookie Wilson who lived their faith on and off the diamond.
But it also included men who, while they had great promise and unbelievable talent in the area of athletics, did not make such wise choices when it came to who they hung around and associated with outside of the stadium.
One phenom who would fall prey was the electrifying pitcher named Dwight Gooden and the other was the tall kid from California who could hit the ball high and deep and far into the night named Darryl Strawberry.
These two individuals who both won the National League Rookie of the Year came on the scene with their tickets punched for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That induction would never come to be because of their addictions to substances that stole some of the best days that might have been.
Strawberry was at the top of his MLB game in the 80s and 90s, winning a World Series with the New York Mets and three more with the New York Yankees.
But his drug abuse, house arrests, and visits to rehab weren’t the glorious story that we Mets fFans had hoped for. Darryl would actually go on along with other former Mets, Gooden and David Cone, to help the Yankees win several World Championships. 
But Strawberry couldn’t conquer his demons on his own and on top of that, he physically had to battle colon and lymph node cancer and emotionally try to survive through failed marriages.
All of this left him with a deep sense of hopelessness. Many thought that Strawberry’s Fields would not be forever and a tragic end was an inevitable conclusion.
Isn’t that just the place when God’s amazing grace walks in and saves the day? Human beings aren’t ready to be redeemed until they finally admit that they are too broken on their own to be rescued.
Today life is very different for Strawberry. His purpose and passion is serving the Lord by speaking a message of hope and helping others transform their lives through the power of the gospel.
The former outfielder is now an ordained minister who is prayerfully helping others find their way safely home. The four-time baseball world champion, two-time cancer survivor, bestselling author is now God’s instrument of hope for other men and women who think they have nowhere to belong.
What an honor that Strawberry wants to share his story with our neighbors, family and friends in the Cape May County community.
 Strawberry will be speaking at The Men’s Resurrection Breakfast held this coming Saturday, March 19 at The Lighthouse Church at 9 a.m. If anyone can understand the weight of how deadly and damaging drugs that have been inundating our area lately can be: Darryl can.
The Straw that stirred the drink when it came to how far he could hit a baseball, supposedly had it all, until he woke up one day and admitted that he had nothing lasting when it came to what mattered most.
 believe that somebody reading this article right now needs to hear this testimony this weekend. Maybe it is somebody you love and you pray for that needs to be in the audience.
Please don’t hesitate to join us for what I know will be your opportunity to respond to the invitation to give God room to become the only manager that matters in your heart.
As a lifelong Mets fan, of course I am excited about meeting Darryl Strawberry this weekend. But even more as a Christian who has devoted his life to serving and following Jesus, I am ecstatic about what God is going to do in once again reminding Men about who they are in His eyes. When men and Wwomen live knowing that they are loved and forgiven by the Lord, they are finally free to shine at the position they were purposed to play.
The Men’s Resurrection Breakfast is this Saturday at The Lighthouse Church at 9 a.m. Tickets are $5.  Call 609-465-6690 for information.