25th Anniversary of Straw's Debut

[whoisonit]

May 6, 1983 Darryl Strawberry made his Major League debut with the New York Mets.

The Numbers:

Yr Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR GS RBI BB IBB SO SH SF HBP GIDP AVG OBP SLG
1983 Mets 122 420 63 108 15 7 26 0 74 47 9 128 0 2 4 5 .257 .336 .512
1984 Mets 147 522 75 131 27 4 26 0 97 75 15 131 1 4 0 8 .251 .343 .467
1985 Mets 111 393 78 109 15 4 29 2 79 73 13 96 0 3 1 9 .277 .389 .557
1986 Mets 136 475 76 123 27 5 27 1 93 72 9 141 0 9 6 4 .259 .358 .507
1987 Mets 154 532 108 151 32 5 39 0 104 97 13 122 0 4 7 4 .284 .398 .583
1988 Mets 153 543 101 146 27 3 39 0 101 85 21 127 0 9 3 6 .269 .366 .545
1989 Mets 134 476 69 107 26 1 29 0 77 61 13 105 0 3 1 4 .225 .312 .466
1990 Mets 152 542 92 150 18 1 37 1 108 70 15 110 0 5 4 5 .277 .361 .518
1991 Dodgers 139 505 86 134 22 4 28 1 99 75 4 125 0 5 3 8 .265 .361 .491
1992 Dodgers 43 156 20 37 8 0 5 0 25 19 4 34 0 1 1 2 .237 .322 .385
1993 Dodgers 32 100 12 14 2 0 5 0 12 16 1 19 0 2 2 1 .140 .267 .310
1994 Giants 29 92 13 22 3 1 4 1 17 19 4 22 0 2 0 2 .239 .363 .424
1995 Yankees 32 87 15 24 4 1 3 0 13 10 1 22 0 0 2 0 .276 .364 .448
1996 Yankees 63 202 35 53 13 0 11 0 36 31 5 55 0 3 1 3 .262 .359 .490
1997 Yankees 11 29 1 3 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 9 0 0 0 2 .103 .188 .138
1998 Yankees 101 295 44 73 11 2 24 2 57 46 4 90 0 1 3 1 .247 .354 .542
1999 Yankees 24 49 10 16 5 0 3 0 6 17 0 16 0 0 0 0 .327 .500 .612
Career G AB R H 2B 3B HR GS RBI BB IBB SO SH SF HBP GIDP AVG OBP SLG
17 Years 1,583 5,418 898 1,401 256 38 335 8 1,000 816 131 1,352 1 53 38 64 .259 .357 .505

[Captain Cold Nose]

I remember a lot of hype for both him and Brian Giles at the time. Strawberry panned out as much as he allowed himself to.

[whoisonit]

Strawberry panned out as much as he allowed himself to.

Well put.
.

[Gary Dunaier]

If memory serves me right, coach Frank Howard said something to the effect of 'if this kid doesn't make it, none of us [who said he'd become a superstar] deserve to be in this business.' (paraphrased)

By the way, I was at that very first game.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Who was the person that referred to Strawberry as the "black Ted Williams"?

[Proctor, CF]

Who was the person that referred to Strawberry as the "black Ted Williams"?

Right from the get-go in his first Spring Season in St. Petersburg, he awed everyone - earning with his incredible hitting comparisons to Ted Williams. Certainly, inasfar him swinging from the left side and hitting tremendous distances, it was understandable. As I recall, he displayed a strong work ethic at that time also, even being outspoken very early in his career about teammates he felt were not playing with their full abilities and spirit. I recently read some microfilmed articles from his first couple of Springs recounting his vast early talent and leadership. He was gifted with all time talent.

[whoisonit]

As I recall, he displayed a strong work ethic at that time also, even being outspoken very early in his career about teammates he felt were not playing with their full abilities and spirit. I recently read some microfilmed articles from his first couple of Springs recounting his vast early talent and leadership. He was gifted with all time talent.

It was just a few short years & a lifetime later that Tommy Lasorda said something to the effect of "I wouldn't even call him a dog. Dogs run hard after balls".

[Victory Faust]

One of my favorite baseball memories was in the spring of 1983. My media class (taught by Russ Gibb, the old DJ of backward-Beatles fame) went to New York as part of a class trip.

Well, I wandered off to Shea Stadium by myself (I was in class with a bunch of punk rockers who wanted to see things like CBGB's), and watched the Mets play the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

I sat next to an old lady and told her I was from Detroit, and we talked baseball the whole game. I bragged about the Tigers' young crop of ballplayers at the time (Trammell, Whitaker, Gibson, etc.), and she went on and on about this kid Strawberry who was going to be a great one.

There was another Mets prospect, a pitcher named Owenby, who she also thought was going to be great. She wound up batting .500 on her predictions.

But it was just a wonderful afternoon in the sun, talking baseball with a nice elderly woman who knew her stuff.