Before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Darryl Strawberry was welcomed to Citi Field Saturday, as the New York Mets retired his No. 18 in an emotional ceremony for a player who helped the franchise to its last World Series title in 1986.
NEW YORK -- Darryl Strawberry stood on the Citi Field grass as his No. 18 was being retired and addressed the"I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I'm so sorry for ever leaving you guys," Strawberry said, his voice slowing."I'm truly, deeply sorry that I ever left you guys. I never played baseball in front of fans greater than you guys."
He wasn't sure he would make it to this day. The Mets announced last August they would retire Strawberry's number this year along with Dwight Gooden's No. 16. Strawberry had a heart attack on March 11, a day before his 62nd birthday, and wound up in SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in Lake St. Louis, Missouri.Strawberry, on the road as a minister for more than half each year, credited his wife Tracy for taking him to the hospital and saving his life.
"I wanted to be what they were, not just a guy playing baseball, putting the uniform on," Strawberry said during a pre-ceremony news conference."I wanted to be that kind of man. I just didn't have the guts to do what they were doing at the time that they were doing it, and it means a lot to me because they were drinking milk and I was drinking alcohol."
Strawberry recalled he wore No. 8 in high school but it was unavailable when he arrived in New York in 1983 because of Ronn Reynolds. Strawberry wanted to keep an 8, so that's why he picked 18. Mets owner Steve Cohen has pushed for the team to pay more attention to its past since he bought the franchise before the 2021 season. David Wright's No. 5 seems likely at some future time.
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