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Darryl Strawberry was perhaps one of the most electrifying players in Major League Baseball history. Throughout his his 17-year career, he made eight consecutive all-star game appearances and captured four World Series championships. But his baseball prowess on the field at times was largely overshadowed by his controversial life off of it. It had lot to do with how he grew up.

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Darryl grew up in South Central Los Angeles with his four siblings Mike, Ronnie, Regina and Michelle. Their father, "Big hank", was prone to fits of rage -- mostly to Darryl and his older brother Ronnie.

"Me and Ronnie was basically his whopping pole. He would lay us across the bed. We had our shirts off, and he would have like an extension cord. he would beat us and tell us, 'You're never going to be nothing. You don't do nothing right,' and it was just so bad. I was terrified inside of the fact that what he was saying to me I truly believed it."

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Despite his bad attitude, his talent was undeniable. He was the number 1 draft pick in 1980 and was selected by the New York Mets. The pressure came in from all sides. Eventually, Darryl turned to drugs to deal with it.

"I did everything to make me feel good. I drank alcohol, took amphetamines. Later down the line, I got introduced heavily into cocaine, which was my outlet and my escape. That was the biggest escape for me. When I found that, I can escape away from everybody and everything."

Even though Darryl's personal life was crashing, he helped lead the Mets to the 1986 World Series championship. In 1990, he accepted a lucrative deal to play with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Darryl spent three seasons with the Dodgers, and because of his drug habit, his career was hitting rock bottom. He was eventually traded to the San Francisco Giants.

As his career continued, Strawberry's off-field issues continued to get worse. Just before his last season with the Mets began in 1990, Strawberry's wife filed for divorce and he checked into an alcohol rehab program, something that would happen two more times during the course of his career.

Strawberry was suspended by Major League Baseball on three occasions for substance abuse.

Matters got worse for Strawberry four years later. After signing with the San Francisco Giants, Strawberry tested positive for cocaine and the Giants released him shortly after.

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"I was out of baseball, and I was not with anyone at that time. My mom passed away. I wasn't going to play any more baseball, because I had been suspended from the league for drugs. I had went through that battle, and I just kind of like had had enough."

After rehab Darryl entered the lesser independent league. It wasn't long before he received an unexpected call, it was the New York Yankees.

Darryl's career was back on track. He married his second wife Charrise and also helped his team win the '96 and '98 World Series championships. Again his life appeared to be shaping up on the field, but at home, his drug habit had resurfaced. It began to affect his marriage. Not only were things at home coming undone, but at the end of the '98 season Darryl was diagnosed with colon cancer.

Miraculously, after surgery and six months of chemotherapy, he was back on the field the next season.

He was given a 140-game suspension in 1999 for possession of cocaine and soliciting sex from a prostitute. He then violated his probation from that charge in September 2000 after blacking out from taking painkillers while driving and causing an accident, which led to two years of house arrest.

Over the next five years, Darryl lost everything -- his career, his wife, and he almost lost himself, but he managed to go to a drug recovery convention where he met Tracy.

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"I just had to surrender. I had to get with God myself. I had to separate myself from everything and everybody. God was calling me, and it was either I was going to answer this call or I was going to die."

Darryl went back to church and rededicated his life to the Lord. This time it was for good. Tracy and Darryl married in 2006. Today, they are both doing better than ever. Darryl is currently working closely with the Mets organization. Together with Tracy, they founded the Darryl Strawberry foundation, which is dedicated to children and adults with autism. For years, Darryl's life was surrounded by controversy, but these days he's a changed man.

"I want them to see the remarkable man who I always knew I had the capabilities of being. And not playing baseball, but the remarkable man God has me. They see that today, I am so proud of what the Lord has done for me and through me. You become a splitting image of God's image when the world can see that you're different."

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1) Darryl Strawberry Discusses His Battle with Drug Addiction: https://asanarecovery.com/darryl-strawberry-discusses-his-battle-with-drug-addiction/

2) Former baseball star Darryl Strawberry has gone from trouble man to redemption: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/02/10/former-baseball-star-darryl-strawberry-has-gone-from-trouble-man-to-redemption/984885007/

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DARRYL STRAWBERRY DISCUSSES HIS BATTLE WITH DRUG ADDICTION - Asana Recovery

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As Strawberry explains, drug addiction is a very dangerous sickness, but he admits that he wasn’t the first athlete to fall victim to it.