| | TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees outfielder Darryl Strawberry
tested positive for cocaine on Jan. 19 and could once again be
suspended from baseball.
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| Strawberry |
A high-ranking baseball official, speaking on the condition he
not be identified, said Tuesday the commissioner's office is
investigating and a decision whether to take disciplinary action
likely would be made by Thursday at the latest.
Strawberry is tested two or three times a week as part of his
no-contest plea on May 26, 1999, to charges of cocaine possession
and soliciting a prostitute. He was sentenced to 18 months of
probation and 100 hours of community service.
The official did not say what disciplinary action the sport was
likely to take against Strawberry. But given his past penalties, a
suspension that would last most, if not all, of this season appears
likely. Rich Levin, the spokesman for commissioner Bud Selig,
declined comment.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and general manager Brian
Cashman also declined comment on the news, first reported by WTVT
in Tampa and WLWT in Cincinnati and ESPN. WLWT obtained the three-page
report on the probation violation from the Florida Department of
Corrections and made it available to ESPN and The Associated Press.
The eight-time All-Star, who came back from colon cancer surgery
in October 1998, was counted on the Yankees to be their primary
designated hitter this season following the retirement of Chili Davis.
On Tuesday, Yankees manager Joe Torre gave a hint that something may have been up.
"I have a sense something will happen here that will stir the pot," Torre said.
Strawberry, who has been working out at the Yankees complex,
could not be contacted after the positive test became known. He lives in a
gated community, Cheval, just north of Tampa in the suburb of Lutz.
He already has served two drug-related suspensions.
The first, for 60 days, was in 1995 after he tested positive for
cocaine. The second, from April 24 to Aug. 4 last season, came
after he was arrested in Tampa last April 4 for possessing 0.3
grams of cocaine.
Strawberry, who turns 38 next month, didn't rejoin the Yankees
until Sept. 1, but hit .327 with three homers and six RBI. In the
postseason, he batted .333 (5-for-15) with two homers and four
RBI.
The Feb. 8 report by correction probation specialist Shelley J.
Tomlinson, which was approved by deputy regional director Nancy L.
Ham and signed by Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Florence
Foster, said Strawberry did not make a statement about the
violation on the advice of his lawyer.
The report did not ask that Strawberry's probation be revoked or
modified. It recommended Strawberry "remain under supervision with
enhanced treatment sanctions and continued urine monitoring 2-to-3
times per week."
In addition, the report said Strawberry should receive "updated
substance-abuse evaluation" and have weekly counseling and
continue to attend Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous
meetings.
Dr. Joel Solomon, the medical adviser to the players'
association, recommended "an enhancement of his aftercare program
consisting of regular individual therapy sessions while in Tampa
and also once he moves to New York," according to the report.
Florida Department of Corrections regional director Joe Papy
said Strawberry has been tested by baseball three times a week
since May and that the Jan. 19 result was the only one that has
returned positive.
Papy said the recommendation for enhanced supervision and
treatment was typical in cases like Strawberry's because officials
anticipate relapses. Substance abuse counselors will determine the
best way to help the outfielder after meeting with Strawberry.
"What they try to do is determine why someone who's been
getting three negatives a week all of a sudden tests positive ...
Something had to happen," Papy said.
Strawberry, the 1983 National League Rookie of the Year, has a
.258 career average with 332 homers and 994 RBI.
His relapse with drugs last spring came while he was undergoing chemotherapy, which he claimed led to depression.
He had surgery on Oct. 3, 1998, to remove a 16-inch portion of his large intestine to rid him of a cancerous colon tumor almost 2½ inches long. At the time, doctors said the cancer did not appear to have spread.
At Strawberry's sentencing, Florida Circuit Judge Jack Espinosa Jr. ordered him to stay out of bars and asked police and prosecutors to supply Strawberry with a map of Tampa "hot spots" to avoid.
"This really isn't about baseball," the judge said. "It isn't
about your job, but about you. ... This is about what's in your
heart and what's in your mind.
"When you stop producing, nobody will care about you," he added. "If this is the picture of life after baseball, it's not pretty. This is only an opportunity. I hope you make the best of it."
Without being asked, Strawberry replied: "I will."
Strawberry spent the first eight seasons of his career with the New York Mets, then became a free agent and signed with the Dodgers, his hometown team while growing up in Los Angeles.
The Dodgers released him on May 26, 1994, in the midst of his
28-days at the Betty Ford Center for a substance-abuse problem. San
Francisco signed him the following month, but released him the
following Feb. 8 following the positive cocaine test that led to
the 60-day suspension.
Strawberry's latest problem is likely to help Tim Raines and
Roberto Kelly, who are in camp on minor league contracts trying to make the team.
His wife, Charisse, is five months pregnant with the couple's
third child. Strawberry also has two children from a previous
marriage.
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