Darryl Strawberry

I first met Darryl Strawberry on July 4, 1995 at Dunedin Stadium. Darryl was on a rehab assignment with the Tampa Yankees at the time. I was lucky enough to be one of the Dunedin Blue Jays bat boys that day. Darryl was my all time favorite baseball player and I was incredibly honored to meet him. I remember watching him take BP that day. He had such a sweet swing and the balls would launch off his bat with what seemed to be little to no effort. Raw power! After BP, I was able to chat with him in the dugout as he sat next to me. I told him that he was my favorite player and that my brother and I were long time Mets fans from birth and that he and I even shared the same birthday! I also mentioned that my brother was in the stands and had a Beckett Baseball Card Monthly magazine that we were hoping to get signed. He told me he had already met him and signed one for each of us! After Darryl and I finished chatting, he went back to the visiting clubhouse as I returned to my pre-game bat boy duties and headed back to the Blue Jays home clubhouse. Just before reaching entrance of the clubhouse, I collapsed against a fence and limped back to the locker room in pain. The Dunedin Blue Jays trainer checked me out and diagnosed me with a strained hamstring. I still to this day don't know how I would've strained it as I was just walking. I also never forget how Darryl was greeted by the fans that day. Darryl was met with loud and obnoxious boos during each of his at-bats. After the game, I remember those same fans lining up by the visiting clubhouse, hoping for his autograph. As Darryl was signing autographs, they were praising, cheering and wishing him luck on his return to New York. Kind words didn't seem to add up from the boos I was hearing from those same people. I was annoyed by how fake and two-faced those fans were. I also admired Darryl for letting go and signing for everybody that asked him for his autograph. On May 16, 2017, Darryl was making an appearance at George M. Steinbrenner Field to spread the word of God to the people of Tampa. I brought my son with me to hopefully get a chance for him to meet him. We arrived and were there for less than 5 minutes when Darryl walked in our direction. My son pulled out his 8x10 picture and asked Darryl to sign it. He said, "Sure! Why don't you guys follow me!" Darryl brought the two of us into a private area, closed off to the public. He signed the picture on a table and then agreed to take a picture with us! Darryl Strawberry may have had some bad press during his playing days. In my mind, Darryl has always been a class act.