Pubdate: Tue, 07 Mar 2000 Source: The Echo, Copyright: The Echo, 2000 Contact: Tim Sohn (Editor-in-Chief) Copyright: The Echo, 2000 Website: www.wcsu.edu/echo Author: Joe Andreoni, Special to the Echo Note: The Echo is a student-operated newspaper at Western CT State University THE LAST STRAW? Don't tell me Darryl Strawberry is suffering from some illness. I've already heard it. Don't tell me it's wrong for baseball to take back the only thing he has to live for, the game. That's ridiculous. The only person who can help Darryl Strawbery at this point is himself. As Strawberry serves his third and, in all probability, final drug-related suspension, I sit back and wonder what could have been? This was a guy who was the most feared hitter in the National League when he starred for the Mets in the 80's. Strawberry, one of those athletes with the rare combination of speed and power, hit 335 homeruns over a 17-year career, the last nine of which he missed more than half the games he could have played in. If he took better care of himself, Strawberry at age 37, easily would have had his place secured in Cooperstown. Instead, Strawberry turned himself into a junkie. He took his ability for granted and will now have the rest of his life to wonder why. Baseball doesn't need a guy like Strawberry any more than we need another Scream sequel. It's time for Strawberry, the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year, to move on for his own sake. How many second chances can we give this guy? The more we say Strawberry's addiction is an illness, something he can't control, the more relapses he seems to have. How about saying enough is enough? Granted, the eight-time NL All Star has had some tough breaks, such as his bout with colon cancer in 1998, but at some point he must be held accountable for his actions. Strawberry is a grown man who has to learn to make grown-up decisions. He's solely to blame for his situation. No one did this to him, he did this to himself. Not too many people get as many chances to reinvent themselves like Strawberry has. Maybe if the outside world turns its back on him, the Yankee outfielder will wake up and acknowledge reality. He'll have no choice. The public won't care if he's in the gutter or not once he can no longer help a team win baseball games. I hate it when people say drug dependency is an illness, and the abusers are the victims. Quit making excuses. It takes more guts to say no than it does to give in to temptation anyway. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea