Strawberry’s Wife Files for Separation

The wife of Darryl Strawberry, New York Met outfielder, filed for separation Thursday, claiming that Strawberry broke her nose and threatened to kill her in several instances of drunken tirades that began during the National League playoffs last October and culminated after last Sunday’s Super Bowl.

A Los Angeles Superior Court granted Lisa Strawberry’s request for a temporary restraining order. The order prevents Strawberry from coming near his wife, taking away their 19-month-old son or taking any of the couple’s assets pending a Feb. 18 hearing in Superior Court.

Neither Strawberry nor Richie Bry, his agent, could be reached Thursday. But Jay Horwitz, a Met spokesman, said that Strawberry called the club after being served with papers.

“We have been in contact with Darryl and he was very distraught on the phone,” Horwitz said. “He wasn’t happy. He’s in the process of getting legal counsel.”

Strawberry, the former Crenshaw High School standout who was the National League’s rookie of the year in 1983, has reportedly told a friend in New York that the allegations made by his wife of two years are untrue.

Lisa Strawberry, seeking “reasonable support” to meet her $31,550 in monthly expenses and an estimated $50,000 for her lawyer, claims her husband broke her nose in an argument that started during the National League championship series against the Houston Astros in October. Strawberry allegedly ordered her to leave the hotel room in Houston “before I kill you.”

On Christmas night at the couple’s New York condominium, the petition claims that Strawberry “became enraged” when his wife declined to go out for the evening. Strawberry allegedly threw a brass picture frame at her.

“Respondent is tall and extremely strong and can throw a baseball from right field to home plate, so the force of the brass frame coming from a short distance was great,” Lisa Strawberry said in court papers.

The most recent incident occurred Sunday night after the Super Bowl, when Strawberry arrived at his wife’s mother’s home in Altadena “in an intoxicated condition,” threw his wife to the floor and grabbed her purse, she claims. He allegedly returned several nights in the last week during early morning hours, banging on doors and the window outside her bedroom.

Lisa Strawberry said that Darryl later returned the purse, but she claims her credit cards, $400 in cash and two gold-and-diamond bracelets were missing. She said Strawberry has refused to return the items.

Thursday’s court action involving Strawberry was the latest in a series of off-the-field incidents involving Met players since last summer.

On July 19 in Houston, four Mets were arrested on charges stemming from a brawl with off-duty police officers in a bar the previous night.

Felonious assault charges against pitcher Ron Darling and infielder Tim Teufel were later reduced to misdemeanors. The two were fined $200 each and put on a year’s probation earlier this week. Charges of hindering an arrest against pitchers Rick Aguilera and Bob Ojeda were dropped.

Last month, Met pitcher Dwight Gooden was charged with felonious assault against a policeman in Tampa, Fla., Gooden’s hometown. Gooden was put on a three-year probation after pleading no contest in that case a week ago.