Brandon Brown
The New York Mets honored their all-time home run leader on Saturday afternoon and officially retired Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 during a pregame ceremony at Citi Field. To mark the occasion, the Mets turned their homemade apple into a strawberry:
“When they came and pulled me out of class, said you were drafted by the New York Mets — No. 1 — I said, ‘Where the hell is New York?’ Strawberry joked during his speech. “Little did I know that I would come to the best place to play baseball. Little did I know that I would play in front of the biggest fans, forever. There was nothing like playing in Queens. There was nothing like playing at Shea Stadium.”
Now 62 years old, Strawberry suffered a heart attack in March. He was allowed to travel with a portable defibrillator and was able to attend Dwight Gooden’s Number Retirement Ceremony in April. “I came close to losing my life. I’m sitting here because it’s a gift from the Lord and I don’t take it for granted,” Strawberry said before Saturday’s ceremony.
The Mets selected Strawberry with the No. 1 pick in the 1980 draft, and he reached the big leagues at age 21 in 1983. He was an immediate power in the middle and won the NL Rookie of the Year award. that season with a .257/.336/.512 batting line and 26 home runs. During his eight years with the Mets, Strawberry was simply one of the best hitters in the game.
Strawberry hit three postseason home runs during New York’s 1986 World Series run and was runner-up for NL MVP to Kirk Gibson in 1988. He had back-to-back 39-home run seasons in 1987 and 1988, and during his Eight years with the Mets, Strawberry slashed .263/.359/.520, averaging 32 home runs per season. He went to seven All-Star Games with the Mets from 1984-90.
Strawberry is New York’s all-time leader with 252 home runs and a 145 OPS+. He is second in franchise history in WAR among position players (36.6), second in RBI (733) and walks (580), third in runs scored (662) and extra-base hits (469), fourth in total bases (2,028) and fifth in stolen bases (191). Needless to say, Strawberry’s retirement is long overdue.
Here is the franchise home run leaderboard:
- Darryl Strawberry: 252
- David Wright: 242
- Mike Piazza: 220
- Pete Alonso: 204 (and counting)
- Howard Johnson: 192
After the 1990 season, Strawberry signed a five-year, $20.25 million free agent contract with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal made him the second-highest-paid player in baseball, behind Jose Canseco. “I want to say this from the bottom of my heart: I’m sorry I left you,” Strawberry said during his speech on Saturday.
Since taking control of the Mets in November 2020, owner Steve Cohen has embraced the club’s history and honored several of the team’s all-time greats. Gooden (No. 16), Keith Hernandez (No. 17), Jerry Koosman (No. 36), Willie Mays (No. 24) and now Strawberry (No. 18) have all had their numbers retired since Cohen purchased the team.
No. 18 is the tenth number retired in Mets history, joining No. 14 (Gi Hodges), No. 16 (Gooden), No. 17 (Hernandez), No. 24 (May), No. 31 (Mike Piazza) and No. 36 (Koosman), #37 (Casey Stengel), #41 (Tom Seaver) and the universally retired #42 (Jackson Robinson).
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