European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                �?�rr5eyv5isr a i Wax a a it jul j a a a a a a a in  Vav a d. A or 1 i Quot Quot j it Quot  v re f or it a fifth. Darryl Strawberry answers questions after completing an alcohol treatment program this Spring. O Earch for Darryl Strawberry by Steve Jacobson new Day a. La of dash Al Strawberry s previous seven a seasons m the big leagues have been a search for the missing person. Is this the real Darryl Strawberry or is that the real Darry Strawberry a while everybody else was searching Darryl Strawberry was searching too. This one is the Best of them. And you know to likes this one Best too sometimes Thal happens when a Man has looked at his own mortality and decided he can five with it. This is the Best i be Ever played since i was a kid in High school or even Little league a a Strawberry mused. Maybe he has had a sustained spell As Good As the one in i he last halt of june but he has never been better for 27 games to hit 402 with 11 homers and 29 rib. To helped the Mots tie a club record with an 11 game winning Sheak. From a human  fact that Strawberry is performing mrs Job Welt is irrelevant. Cut there is an openness about him a willingness to talk without the heavy overlay of defensive bravado. Hell give an old acquaintance an Elbow in the ribs on passing tie la even say hello first which is a novel thing among ballplayers i tis hailing average would seem irrelevant except that Strawberry the person and Strawberry the baseball player have been so tightly linked in his own value system Quot i his is the Best i be tie on Able to focus on baseball concentrate on tilings i can in and not worry about things i Haven t done Quot tie said. So much of those seven seasons had to on a matter of things he has t done because every exly Owji acted he would have done them Long age t in s 20 years old and the Only thing to has Ever led his Loag re in was Home runs a once. It has been difficult born Darryl Straw Terry. At times he Felt it was impossible. Last Winter he allowed himself to undergo treatment for alcoholism and at first it looked As if the cure was worse than the problem. He began the season As such a passive player and the world belongs to the aggressive athlete. Teammates were concerned. He d come Back from the self inspection of an alcoholics Anonymous meeting unable to get a fire going by game time. Management fretted Over the thought that it might be bidding for a player it was t sure it wanted. Quot i was going through some changes Quot was the Way Strawberry put it. He had been forced to look at himself and recognize his flaws. Quot shortcomings Quot he called them. A one faces ones mortality a the Challenge of life Quot said Allan lans the psychologist who gracefully treads the Tightrope Between explanation and violation of the Confidence players have in him. Quot athletes have this sense of invincibility to face a human Quality one does t relish. That. As you expand what you know of yourself it can be  the notion has been posed that the Genius of Scott Fitzgerald and Eugene o Neill was inseparable from their drinking. Quot i done to subscribe to the notion that the Muse would have left them Quot lans said. The direction Strawberry pointed himself in however was uncharted. A i m dealing with the rest of my life Quot he said Quot so much pressure and stress would build up that i d lose control so you find a Way to escape. The alcohol was a Way for to to not Deal with it. # Quot i approach it now As playing for me not playing for others to Happy inside and give it All i  Strawberry has always had a gift for being Able to say the right thing. He would read criticism and say he was determined not to make the same mistakes. Then to went out and made the same mistakes a generation ago Joe Pepitone used to say he knew he had been a bad boy As he threw himself on the. Mercy of the court a a with such sincerity too. He never did get help As a player and never did straighten out. Strawberry cites a recent matchup against Joe Magrane of the cardinals As his Case in Point Quot when he fell behind Howard Johnson on deck i said a i got to prepare myself to drive in runs if Howard gets on base. Johnson walked and Strawberry lined a single giving the mets a 2-1 Lead in a 5-2 Victory. It was the ninth win in their 11 game winning Streak. Magrane is a left hander Strawberry got three hits off him. Strawberry had 10 hits in 25 at bats against lefties when he was finished with Magrane All of this Streak business is wrapped together because this is Strawberry. He has played with a fire. He has been diving for balls in the Outfield in the passive stage he was conspicuous by not diving. Just As he has said the right things before he has had flashes of brilliance before. Las year he went into the season thinking he had been unfairly treated in the map voting and proceeded to slump the whole season. Quot i had a real Tough time he said. Quot it was a year of not preparing to do the things i was capable of doing i let it All go Down. There was a certain amount of doubt coming into this season i Felt uncomfortable for a  it was quite natural. Quot stopping drinking does no to make you a passive person Quot lans said. Quot if someone is willing to say to alcoholic and stops drinking he s willing to make a change. That s the first step Quot what does he do next Well find  in the meantime Strawberry s Price goes up Jose Canseco s $23.5 million for five years pushed the barriers to a new level. Strawberry is being paid $1 8 million in the sixth and last year of his contract. The mets could have gotten him cheaply. They had reason to question whether they wanted him at any Price. Now the question is How much they think he s Worth to them. Its a belter question Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday Joiy