Time out.
The Mets and Straw are spinning tales of love as we get closer to the team retiring 18. I understand Darryl is older now, has changed his ways, is enlightened and all that. Great. Awesome.
Let’s not forget that it’s not like we woke up one day and were stunned that he had headed off to LA. It was “known” that he wanted to be a Dodger well before November of 1990 rolled around.
November 1, 1990 via The Daily Press
Darryl Strawberry’s agent has met with the Los Angeles Dodgers and said the outfielder would sign without seeking other bids if the Dodgers agree to pay him a Jose Canseco-type contract, sources said.
The agent also said Strawberry has told Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda that he wants to play here so much, he would move from right field to center field if necessary. That would enable the Dodgers to sign him without being forced to move Hubie Brooks or Kal Daniels, and could result in one of baseball’s best hitting outfields.
“Darryl and I both expressed a great deal of interest in him playing for the L.A. Dodgers,” Eric Goldschmidt, Strawberry’s agent, said.
Goldschmidt would not elaborate on Tuesday’s meeting with Vice President Fred Claire and attorney Bob Walker. But he noted: “Darryl has told Tommy that he will play center field or right field. He told him he would do whatever the manager wanted him to do.”
Until recently, Strawberry has publicly wavered on whether he wanted to join the Dodgers or return to the New York Mets. He has appeared in seven All-Star games in his eight big league seasons and has averaged 31 home runs and 91 runs batted in per season.
Under free-agent guidelines, the Dodgers cannot begin talking contract terms with Strawberry until Monday. He will be seeking a deal similar to the five-year, $23.5 million contract signed by the Oakland Athletics’ Jose Canseco.
November 9, 1990 via LA Times
Said Strawberry: “I didn’t want to fly all over the country and get in a bidding war. I wanted to be with a winner, which the Dodgers have always been. I wanted to come home. I mean, people talk about the pressure of playing at home, but after going through what I went through in New York, nothing can be as bad as that.
“The pressure and expectations, the feeling the media created that every time the club failed it was because of me, took all the fun out of it. Now I feel that the fun is just beginning, that my career is just beginning. I think you’ll see Darryl Strawberry take his game to new levels. There’s no telling what I might produce. I’ve come here to help the Dodgers win a championship.”
So welcome home Darryl. Retire 18 and all that. But let’s stop trying to sell a story that isn’t true. You didn’t want to be here.
