Sunday morning I received a phone call from memorabilia mogul Mead Chasky. He told me that Darryl Strawberry was going to be at the American Legions post in Babylon New York.
If you know Darryl then you know how spiritual this man can be.
Even when he was going through all his issues there always was something very special about him. Yes he was dealing with a drug addiction problem but so were my own siblings. There was always something that told me that he was going to eventually control this demon inside of him. Something that I knew my siblings would never come to grips with. That’s why he is here today in control of his life and sharing with the world that they too can get it together.
It’s a message that unfortunately came too late for my six siblings.
The greatness that surrounds The Strawman is from a higher power and he totally understands it. He knows that he is truly a messenger of God and takes that role very seriously.
He has had cancer twice and he bravely has beaten it. Last month he had a heart attack and like the champion that he has been he dealt with it. He also understands that these things that have happened are not accidents. They are a part of his role as a soldier of God.
The great actor and one of my favorite people ever Chazz Palminteri always told me that there are the givers and there are the takers… In all the time I have known Strawberry he has always been a giver.
Yesterday my family and I walked into the American Legions post and when Darryl saw my grandson Prince Rowen Hopkins he jumped off his chair to reach out for our little Prince.
It really made me feel so very proud. Darryl said that the Prince was a true miracle. He said that because of the long and winding road that we have traveled. The fact that we are still here and the fact that it took a man like George Steinbrenner to open a door for me in 1973 and then do the same thing for Darryl and Doc Gooden in 1995. That’s why Darryl says that Prince Rowen is a Miracle Baby.
If you really know Darryl Strawberry and for that matter Doc Gooden then you are talking about two of the best people that you can possibly know not just in Baseball, but in life.
I can’t thank Steve and Tia Alex Cohen enough for what they have done for these two wonderful individuals. Retiring numbers 16 and 18 is truly a beautiful gesture and also a great blessing for those who are battling the disease of addiction and in Strawberry’s case… cancer. When some fans that are fighting their own individual disease and look on top of Citi Field and see 16 and 18 it may also inspire them to fight against their individual problems.
I will close by saying that Darryl Strawberry now has a new fan in the PRINCE!
