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| TODAY: Friday, May 12 | |||||
| No more baseball may be best thing for Strawberry Special to ESPN.com | |||||
| Ah, spring training is finally in full swing. Mark McGwire is in
Jupiter, Fla., hitting home runs to Saturn. Ken Griffey Jr. is in
Sarasota, sharing a dugout with Ken Griffey Sr. And Darryl Strawberry
is, well, somewhere, beginning his annual suspension for drug abuse.
In what is becoming as much a spring tradition as Albert Belle
turning down his first autograph request, baseball suspended Strawberry
again Monday, this time for the entire 2000 season.
In other words, it looks like the St. Paul Saints will be favored
in the Northern League again this summer. And if he can't get this
cocaine addiction licked, St. Paul's Midway Stadium could become
Strawberry's field forever.
Strawberry's supporters say that given his age -- he turns 38
this month -- a season-long suspension effectively ends his career.
Maybe, but I doubt it. Like Cher, this guy never stays away for long no
matter what he gets in trouble for. Soliciting a prostitute, cheating on
his income tax, abusing drugs -- it doesn't matter. As long as he can slam
a baseball over a fence with that beautiful swing of his, someone is
always there to offer him a job at more money than most people make in a
lifetime.
Even if it spells the end of Strawberry's big league career
though, this long suspension is the appropriate decision. Clearly,
earning millions to play baseball hasn't helped Strawberry overcome his
addiction. And I suspect that being surrounded by fabulously rich and
pampered young men who often get off work around 11 p.m. in a city far
from home probably isn't the healthiest environment for a recovering
addict.
If it means the end of his baseball career, so be it. There
are many other careers available to him, even if they don't pay anywhere
near as much as swatting baseballs in Yankee Stadium. After all,
where is it written that Strawberry can earn no money outside of
baseball? That if he doesn't make at least $750,000 a year, he needn't
bother earning any sort of money at all? That he can work only within a
batting cage, not a cubicle?
Besides, Strawberry brought this on himself. He chose to start
using cocaine years ago. If his addiction cost him several seasons off
his career, untold millions in salary and left him in debt, he has only
himself to blame.
And it's about time Strawberry accept not only the blame but also
the consequences of his actions. Perhaps an end to a life in sports --
where misbehavior off the field always is excused as long as you can
perform well on it -- is just the incentive he needs most to begin a
better life outside baseball.
I just hope Strawberry doesn't spend his suspension working on a
sequel to the book, "Recovering Life," that he and his wife, Charisse,
graced bookshelves with this winter. This "inspirational" book
describes Strawberry's struggle to overcome cancer and drug addiction and
is currently available on the clearance table at your local bookstore
alongside "What You Must Do Now to Survive Y2K."
Say what you will about Steve Howe, at least he had the good
sense not to write a self-help book.
Congratulations, Sparky On a much happier note, the Veterans Committee voted Sparky Anderson into the Hall of Fame this week. No manager ever deserved the honor more. Not only was Anderson a terrific manager, he is a delightful man to be around and his acceptance speech should be one of the summer's highlights. And perhaps a plaque in Cooperstown will finally make up for Anderson not winning an Emmy after his brilliant appearance on "WKRP in Cincinnati" two decades ago. Jim Caple's Off Base column appears each Wednesday. | ALSO SEE Strawberry starts rehab, wants to 'take control' Off Base: Smackdown Baseball is next  | ||||