The Last Straw

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The Last Straw As for myself I am a dedicated Yankee fan, I've always been ever since the "Don Mattingly" and "David Winfield" days. However growing up and watching baseball, no one has impressed me more than Darryl Strawberry. Long, lanky, and observed as powerless, Strawberry stood out in my eye, until I first seen bat at Shea stadium one night. The pitch count was 0-2, and at that point I pretty much figured Darryl would make out somehow, nevertheless he battles back to a full count, and then battled off 3 foul balls until he found his pitch. At that point he took the pitcher yard into the night sky at Shea. This was the point where I wish the Yankees had this man in pinstripes. I can vividly remember when I heard the rumors that Darryl would come to the Bronx. After days and days and hoping, it finally came true. Although I heard all the critics and their comments oh how strawberry was washed up because of his drug habit, and that he will never play again, and he will never be the same, I still had faith. As he stepped into the stadium for the very first time in pinstripes, I was so excited. I had a strange gut feeling that we would see the Darryl of old, and to my feeling I was right. That night Darryl hit the game-winning pinch-hit homer, which ignited the stadium to erupt. When the game was over and I had seen Darryl hitting consistently for the rest of the year, I was confident it would help our Yankee organization return to the fall classic, as well as redeem himself from his horrific past. Everything seemed to be well, until Darryl developed colon cancer. All of Darryl's teammates and even Joe Torre were crushed by the cancer incident. The entire Yankee organization supported Darryl during his crisis. The 1998 Yankee team put Darryl's number on towels in the stadium for support; they also put his name and or number on most periphenelia that would support him during his cancer struggles. Joe Torre and the rest of the Yankees said "they won it for him." After the season Darryl was struggling with his cancer and recuperation, and I can understand that it is not easy, and I can understand his reason for depression, however what befuddled me is how he can go back to what corrupted his life.

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