One of the all-time great NY Mets, as well as one of the game’s greatest wastes of talent, Darryl Strawberry is said to be close to an agreement with the Mets to attend Spring Training in some sort of ceremonial, meet & greet role.
Straw, who bailed on a similarly vague assignment with the Yankees last year, citing a heavy schedule with his ministry work, would also be expected to press the flesh alongside fellow Mets alumni Gary Carter, Tim Teuful and Howard Johnson on the morning of February 27, when Mets single game tickets go on sale at Shea.
(the young Darryl gets some tips on public relations from Dave Kingman)
Given that George Steinbrenner successfully co-opted much of the Mets’ 1980’s star power with his signings of Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and David Cone, this is a particularly interesting exercise in nostalgia by the current Mets management team. In the wake of the team’s flashiest new acquisitions since the arrival of Mike Piazza, in the form of Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, it has been decided that the best way to tug on the purse-strings of the Mets’ greying fan base is to trot out Darryl Strawberry.