From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Darryl Strawberry was one of the most feted and prolific sluggers in baseball. Fans dubbed him the Black Ted Williams. An eight-time All-Star, a four-time World Series Champion, and a National League Rookie of the Year, he played for the Mets, Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees. His dazzling achievements on the field, however, were often overshadowed by his epic struggles off it. Darryl Strawberry became the first National League player voted to the All-Star Game in each of his first four full seasons, and, during his baseball career, he hit more than three hundred home runs, but as Buster Olney, author of “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty” writes, he will always be remembered as much for what he didn’t accomplish as for all of the things he did. The New York Mets drafted Straw in 1980, and Darryl won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1983, but he also began to dabble with the devil. Darryl’s marriage unraveled and he and first wife Lisa eventually divorced. Stays in Rehab did not curb his substance abuse and Strawberry eventually faced jail time. But in 2006, Strawberry changed course dramatically. In Reggie Jackson’s words, in the middle innings of life, with two strikes against him, Darryl got his groove back and smashed one out of the park. Strawberry turned to God and found redemption. Darryl’s 2009 memoir “Straw: Finding My Way,” written in collaboration with John Strausbaugh, recounts both the highs and lows of Darryl’s life, and the lessons of hope and survival he learned along the way. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says, “If you’re looking for an interesting book about a chaotically interesting life, ‘Straw’ makes for good reading.” And David Cone writes, “Darryl has written a profound book on the meaning of celebrity, sports and manhood. Reading his story, you follow an incredibly talented ballplayer who fell prey to his demons off the field. This is a riveting and memorable account of one man’s pursuit of a meaningful life.” Today Darryl speaks about how he and Strausbaugh put together the book, growing up in Crenshaw, California, the pillar of strength that was his mother, and the efforts Darryl is now making on behalf of those who suffer from autism and cancer. If you would like to know more about my books, please visit my website: www.markseinfelt.com. See also the Amazon page for “Finding My Way”: http://www.amazon.com/Straw-LP-Finding-My-Way/dp/B006G8DP3O/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331070686&sr=1-1

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