Rookie of the Year: Darryl Strawberry, 1983

Outfielder, New York Mets

Age:  21

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’6”    Weight: 190

Prior to 1983:

A native of the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles, Strawberry was drawn to sports as a potential ticket out of difficult circumstances. With great natural baseball talent, the tall and rangy Strawberry excelled with a strong Crenshaw High School team both as a pitcher and outfielder. Following high school, he was chosen first overall by the Mets in the 1980 amateur draft. Receiving a $200,000 signing bonus he was first assigned to Kingsport of the Rookie-level Appalachian League where he appeared in 44 games and batted .268 with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs. Advancing to Lynchburg of the Class A Carolina League in 1981 Strawberry struggled at the plate and hit .255 with 13 home runs and 78 RBIs. Moving up to Jackson of the Class AA Texas League in 1982, he began to flash the form that had been expected of him, batting .283 with a league-leading 34 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 45 stolen bases. As a result he was named to the league All-Star team. Strawberry played winter ball in Venezuela and began the 1983 season with the Tidewater Tides of the Class AAA International League and was hitting .333 when he was called up to the struggling Mets in May.

1983 Season Summary

Appeared in 122 games

RF – 117, PH – 4, PR – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 473

At Bats – 420

Runs – 63

Hits – 108

Doubles – 15

Triples – 7 [13, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 26 [7]

RBI – 74 [20]

Bases on Balls – 47

Int. BB – 9

Strikeouts – 128 [2, tied with Jason Thompson]

Stolen Bases – 19

Caught Stealing – 6

Average - .257

OBP - .336

Slugging Pct. - .512 [Non-qualifying]

Total Bases – 215

GDP – 5

Hit by Pitches – 4 [11, tied with ten others]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 2

Midseason snapshot: HR – 8, RBI – 28, AVG – .202, SLG PCT – .399

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Most hits, game – 3 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at St. Louis 6/28, (in 5 AB) at Atlanta 7/19, (in 4 AB) at San Diego 8/22, (in 4 AB) vs. San Francisco 8/27

HR at home – 10

HR on road – 16

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 5 at St. Louis 6/28

Pinch-hitting/running – 0 of 4 (.000) with 2 R, 1 SB

Fielding

Chances – 244

Put Outs – 232

Assists – 8

Errors – 4

DP - 0

Pct. - .984

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Darryl Strawberry, NYM: 106 pts. – 18 of 24 first place votes, 88% share

Craig McMurtry, Atl.: 49 pts. – 6 first place votes, 41% share

Mel Hall, ChiC..: 32 pts. – 27% share

Gary Redus, Cin.: 8 pts. – 7% share

Bill Doran, Hou.: 7 pts. – 6% share

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Mets went 68-94 to finish sixth in the NL Eastern Division, 22 games behind the division-winning Philadelphia Phillies while leading the league in fewest runs scored (575) among other offensive categories. Manager George Bamberger quit in early June while the club was at 16-30 and was replaced on an interim basis by Frank Howard, which briefly lifted the Mets until they slid to a second straight last-place finish (and seventh consecutive losing record).

Aftermath of ‘83:

The Mets rose to second place in the NL East in 1984 and Strawberry contributed 26 home runs, once again, along with 97 RBIs, 27 stolen bases, and a .251 batting average. He was chosen as an All-Star for the first time but also took criticism for a dreadful August slump and for occasionally lackadaisical play in the outfield. The Mets again finished a close second in the division in 1985 and Strawberry was limited to 111 games due to a thumb injury but still hit .277 with 29 home runs and 79 RBIs. In 1986 the Mets won the NL East and the league pennant and proceeded to defeat the Red Sox in the World Series. In his third straight All-Star season, Strawberry batted .259 with 27 home runs and 93 RBIs. The team fell back to second place in 1987 while Strawberry hit .284 with 39 home runs and 104 RBIs, placing sixth in NL MVP voting. With the Mets returning to the top of the NL East in 1988 Strawberry topped the league with 39 home runs and a .545 slugging percentage while further producing 101 RBIs and a .269 batting average. This time he finished second in league MVP balloting. New York fell back to second place in 1989 and Strawberry suffered through a difficult year, hitting just .225 with 29 home runs and 77 RBIs and dealing with numerous off-field troubles, including conflicts with some of his teammates. Affected by some turmoil in 1990, the Mets were again a second place club, although Strawberry returned to form with 37 home runs, 108 RBIs, and a .277 batting average. In the offseason he signed a five-year, $20.25 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had a fine first season with LA in 1991, batting .265 with 28 home runs and 99 RBIs. A back injury that required surgery limited him to 43 games in 1992. An injury-marred 1993 season saw Strawberry hit just .140 in 32 games. Confirming rumors of years of drug and alcohol abuse he was sent to the Betty Ford Clinic for treatment. Released by the Dodgers, he caught on with the San Francisco Giants during the 1994 season and hit four home runs with 17 RBIs before the players’ strike wiped out the remainder of the schedule. Facing tax evasion as well as renewed drug charges, Strawberry returned to New York with the Yankees in 1995, although he started the season in the minors. He joined the Yankees for 32 games late in the year, hitting .276 with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs. Strawberry appeared in 63 games in 1996 for the Yanks, splitting most of his time between left field and DH. He hit .262 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs and was a key contributor in the postseason, where he accounted for 3 home runs and 5 RBIs in the ALCS victory over Baltimore. Following an injury-marred 1997 season in which he appeared in only 11 games for the Yankees, Strawberry returned in 1998 to play in 101 games, batting .247 with 24 home runs and 57 RBIs. The Yanks won the World Series but without Strawberry, who was diagnosed with colon cancer and began treatment. Cancer treatment and a drug suspension limited Strawberry to 24 games and three home runs in 1999, although he connected with a key three-run home run in the ALDS vs. Texas. He retired after the season having batted .259 with 1401 hits for his major league career that included 256 doubles, 38 triples, and 335 home runs. Of that, he batted .263 with 1025 hits for the Mets, which included 187 doubles, 30 triples, and 252 home runs. Overall, he further compiled 1000 RBIs and 221 stolen bases, with 733 RBIs and 191 stolen bases accumulated with the Mets. Strawberry was an eight-time All-Star (seven with the Mets) and received two Silver Slugger awards. In 40 postseason games he hit .254 with 9 home runs and 22 RBIs. A player who came to the major leagues with huge potential and hype, Strawberry achieved a fair amount of success, but was also hindered by off-field issues.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.