THIS MAY FINALLY BE THE YEAR DARRYL STRAWBERRY BECOMES . . . : THE STRAW THAT STIRS NEW YORK

‘I haven’t had my year. But I’m going to have it this year. . . .

I know what I can do, what I should do, how good I can be.’

Maybe it was the termination of a stormy marriage, the realization that he will now see his 2-year-old son only occasionally.

Maybe it was the problems that enveloped close friend Dwight Gooden--the suddenness with which a life and career can change--or the winter vow made with close friend Eric Davis that one of them should go out and win the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award.

Maybe it was the biting criticism he received from New York Met teammates when he was fined $1,500 for being late to one spring practice and stalking out of another.

Maybe, at 25 and in his fifth year, he has simply come to terms with the albatross that is his potential, defining it, accepting it and living with it on his own terms.

Or maybe all of those things are factors in what has been one of Darryl Strawberry’s strongest starts.

The numbers--some of the league’s best--are only part of it. The attitude is what has caught the Mets’ attention.

Davis, the Cincinnati Reds’ center fielder who graduated from Fremont High at the same time that Strawberry graduated from Crenshaw High, calls it “the eye of the tiger.”

He and Strawberry hone it each winter by working out at Harvard Park in South Central Los Angeles, a reminder of where they came from and where they want to go.

If Strawberry’s eye has clouded at times in the past, as some obviously believe, there is now cautious optimism, a hope that he will carry this new determination--and the Mets along with it--for all six months of a testing season.

Little things. Meaningful things. The 1987 Strawberry is at Shea Stadium by 3 o’clock for games that begin at 7:30. He works with weights now, runs to his position, goes for the extra base when the opportunity seems there and asks for more hitting, even though he has failed to hit in only 4 of 27 games that the Mets have played.

It is not that he did none of those things before, it’s just that his levels of consistency and concentration seems higher. He was a .228 hitter against left-handers before. Now he is hitting .280. He was a .244 hitter in often hostile Shea Stadium before. Now he is hitting .317.

He has a .291 overall average this season, with 7 home runs, 21 runs batted in and 16 extra-base hits among a total of 30.

He has dedicated the season to his son and to Gooden.

“If that’s what it takes to get him to do the things he’s capable of doing, that’s fine with us,” Bill Robinson, hitting instructor and first base coach, said.

“I hit him fly balls before the game and he throws them back as hard as he can, as if he’s trying to take my hand off. There’d be times in the past he’d never even go after the ball.

“There were too many peaks and valleys, too many highs and lows. He didn’t allow himself a chance to utilize his capabilities. Now he’s hustling, playing happy. I’d like to think he’s finally just grown up.”

First baseman Keith Hernandez, the Mets’ captain, said he isn’t skeptical, just wary. He said the real test for any player comes during the dog days of mid-summer. So far, however:

“Darryl’s come to play and he’s come to play hard. We all have days when we don’t feel good. Darryl would give in to them in the past. Now he isn’t. He’s been great, and that’s growth.”

Strawberry sat at his Shea Stadium locker the other day and described himself as a man on a mission. He said he is very intense, very aggressive, very hungry to have a year commensurate with his capabilities. He predicted that it will be fun watching him.

“I haven’t had my year,” he said. “But I’m going to have it this year.

“I’m relaxed, confident. I know what I can do, what I should do, how good I can be. I want to live up to my expectations, not somebody else’s. It’s a tough thing to carry a label unless you have the experience to deal with it. Now I do.

“I’m not going to hold up any stats and say, ‘This is what I should do.’ I used to do that and have people say I failed when I didn’t reach those goals.

“I know I’m going to put up great numbers, but I just want to stay healthy, have fun, do my best and take it a day at a time. I think good things can happen that way, especially when you’re blessed with talent.”

THE BREAKUP

Darryl and Lisa Strawberry were married Jan. 5, 1985. Darryl Jr. was born June 11 of that year. A Met official said the marriage was simply one long argument.

Lisa filed for separation Jan. 29. Strawberry said that she beat him to it. She charged him with assault, saying that he broke her nose when they were in Houston for last year’s National League playoffs. Now living in the Los Angeles area, she is seeking $31,000 a month in support. The case is in litigation.

Said Bill Robinson: “We all have problems at home. We have to learn to leave them behind.”

Not easy when you’re in your early 20s and the confusion of an unhappy marriage is complicated by the confusion of career expectations.

Strawberry said:

“A lot of things led me to look at my career, but the biggest turnaround is probably the result of my personal problems. It’s a disappointing thing when you think you have the ideal woman and it doesn’t turn out that way.

“There were days, weeks, when I was having the problems at home and just couldn’t concentrate at the park. It’s still tough. There’s a lot of anger and hurt when you lose a family. I still love and care for them. I miss my son.

“I want him to realize that his father’s a special person. I can’t spend a lot of time with him now, so I want to build bigger goals and achieve them on his behalf. I want to put those problems behind me and work toward being more successful. I know I can do it because I can concentrate on only baseball now. A lot of the pressure’s off. I’m happy. I have a good career.

“I’m not going to get down about this. I’m just not going to let my whole career go down with it.”

GOODEN

Dr. K was in drug rehabilitation when the Mets opened the season with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bob Ojeda took Dwight Gooden’s place on the mound. Strawberry, in his first at-bat, hit a three-run homer while wearing Gooden’s pants.

“It makes you wonder about life in general,” he said at the time. “Not to see No. 16 out there on the mound was frustrating. That’s why I decided to dedicate this season to my friend and to my son. I wish I could have worn his whole uniform. I mean, I’m very close to Dwight. What happened to him woke me up.

“He’s a young man with a great future, he had so much going for him, yet you can see how your life can be destroyed overnight. I want to keep a clean attitude and personality in this game. You never know what can happen to you.”

One of the things that has happened since is that Strawberry has heard his name linked to drug and alcohol rumors.

Strawberry bristled.

“To hell with what people think,” he said. “I don’t have anything to hide. Just because a close friend gets involved in some things doesn’t mean that I am.

“People who say that are just feeding me more motivation.”

Gooden is back now, working out with the Mets in preparation for his return to the mound in June. Strawberry said he will never forget the impact of Gooden’s departure.

“It was a hurting moment in my life,” he said. “Dwight was like family. We grew up here together (as professional players). He got trapped with the wrong people. I tried to tell him that staying in Tampa (his hometown) would pull him down, but you can’t preach.

“I mean, it could have been Eric or me coming from where we did, but our dreams were set. We were clear-headed from the start. We didn’t want to end up on a street corner.

“Dwight’s life changed overnight and I don’t want to forget how it happened. I’m going to be with him. I’m going to be his support on the road. I’m going to keep his mind occupied, direct him in other ways.”

PROFESSIONALISM

His teammates understand the fragile nature of consistency, know it’s hard to maintain for 162 games. They’re only looking for improvement from Strawberry, continued growth.

In a word: professionalism.

The Mets don’t think he displayed it after Game 6 of last year’s World Series.

Manager Dave Johnson, in a questionable move revolving around a double switch in his lineup, removed Strawberry in the ninth inning of a game that was tied.

The Mets rallied in the 10th for a stunning victory that sent the Series into a climactic Game 7, but Strawberry’s postgame emotions were spent in a blistering attack on Johnson, saying he didn’t care if he ever talked to the man again.

When Strawberry homered in the eighth inning of Game 7, Ray Knight greeted him at the plate and whispered: “Be a man, Darryl, shake his hand.”

Strawberry and Johnson did shake, but Knight said later: “Darryl has to understand that he’s not bigger than the club. He’s a good man, but he’s moody. Some people never overcome that.”

Now, however, maybe Strawberry has. He had no apparent complaints when he was removed from Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Atlanta as part of a double switch in the seventh inning.

Then there were was the spring incident in which the Mets believed that Strawberry’s professionalism again disintegrated.

He arrived late to a practice, claiming to have overslept. The next day, he found a note from Johnson tacked to his locker, saying he was fined $500.

Strawberry, thinking it was the manager’s responsibility to address him personally about it, left for two hours, then returned to find that the fine had increased to $1,500, which he initially said he would not pay, insisting that he often draws criticism and discipline where others don’t.

If Strawberry expected empathy and compassion from his teammates, he didn’t get it.

Said Gary Carter: “He overslept? Can’t he afford an alarm clock? I have one and get up in the morning. But then I go to bed at night.”

Said Lee Mazzilli: “I have no sympathy for him. The reason is because he has more talent than anybody in this clubhouse. He has Hall of Fame written all over him. It’s time for him to wake up. The thing is, he’s a good kid. If he was a jerk, we wouldn’t care about him.”

Strawberry reflected and said the one mistake shouldn’t have caused him to be portrayed as immature, as something less than a grown man. But the message seems to have taken.

He adopted his new work ethic immediately. He volunteered for bus trips and shrugged off injuries. He arrived early and left late. He paid the fine.

“I paid it because I didn’t want any more trouble,” he said. “I wanted to put it behind me. I’d describe my relationship with Davey now as decent. He’s told me that I don’t have to like him but that he considers me an important player on the club and that we should work at improving our relationship. I’m positive that we have no hard feelings toward each other.

“I understand that he’s the manager, I’m the player.”

In the manager’s view, Strawberry has responded to the peer pressure.

Of their own relationship, Johnson said:

“We’ve had our ups and downs, some misunderstandings. He’s not the only player (that’s happened with), but he gets more (media) attention because of who he is. I’ve got no problems with Darryl, especially the way he’s going about it now. He’s been outstanding. I can’t say enough about him. I expect to win our division and I expect him to be a big part of it.”

POTENTIAL

He was the nation’s No. 1 pick in the June draft of 1980.

Hugh Alexander, then a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies, said: “He’s the best prospect I’ve seen in the last 30 years.”

Charlie Fox, then scouting for the Montreal Expos, said: “I’d give up five of our picks if we could get that kid.”

As late as last year, even the Mets were still laying it on him.

General Manager Joe McIlvaine told the New York Daily News: “The best is yet to come. I still think he’s capable of 50-50--hitting 50 homers and stealing 50 bases (in a season). He’s still learning his capabilities. The sky is the limit. I still think he can be the greatest ever.”

How great is great? Who defines it? He was the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 1983 after playing only 2 1/2 years in the minors, including just 16 games in Class AAA . He has averaged 27 home runs and 86 RBIs during his four seasons. The Detroit Tigers’ Kirk Gibson is the only other major league to have hit 20 or more homers and stolen 20 or more bases in each of the last three seasons.

Is Strawberry less than what he was expected to be because he has never hit 30 home runs or driven in 100 runs or batted more than .277.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a young player who came up coping with what I’ve had to cope with,” Strawberry said. “I’ve been under a microscope all the way.

“The years I’ve had would be career years for just about anyone else in the organization, but not me. I used to worry about that, think that I wasn’t living up to what people expected. But not anymore.

“I have a maturity and confidence now. I look at what I’ve done under tremendous pressure and feel good about it. I know there are still better days ahead, but I’m going to put the pieces together for myself, not let anyone else do it for me.”

Maybe he now has the Mets’ support in that. Club President Frank Cashen said he recently told Strawberry that he is through talking potential.

“He is what he is--a very good ballplayer,” Cashen said. “Last year he hit 27 homers, drove in 93 runs and had a decent average (.259). Would I take that again? In a minute.”

The New York Post conducted a straw poll in November, asking readers if Strawberry should be traded. The vote was overwhelmingly against a trade. And Strawberry now hears cheers in Shea, where at one point last year he went 47 consecutive at-bats without a hit.

But he knows how quickly it can change, which is why he has always been a more relaxed hitter on the road.

“There’ve been tough times here, but it’s not the fans, it’s the media that creates the situation with the negative things they write,” Strawberry said. “Everything gets blown out of proportion here.

“I hit a slump and they try to bury me. Other guys slump and you never hear anything about it. The key thing in my thinking is to shut the critics up, and the only way I can do that is to perform.”

It gets back to the microscope and the expectations and an oft-expressed desire by Strawberry to find his way to the hometown Dodgers.

Hernandez, his captain, has tried to tell him otherwise, that wherever he plays, because of his credentials, his capabilities, he’s going to be in the spotlight, always a story.

“He has to deal with the realities,” Hernandez said. “He has to look himself in the mirror and think about things before he does them or says them.

“It’s like when he had the problems this spring, I told him, ‘You’re not 21 anymore. You didn’t just come up. You’re not still wet behind the ears. You’re a four-year veteran now . . . ‘ “

THE CHALLENGE

Strawberry smiled. The relationship with Eric Davis is special. It was as a culmination of their winter workouts that they decided to go after the MVP award.

“We feel we’re as good as anybody in the league and want to prove it,” Strawberry said. “We’re not competing against each other as much as we’re competing against the league.

“I wish we could both win it. I wish we could share it. He’s off to a great start, but I’m not counting myself out. I’m hitting well, but not like I can. I can hit home runs and steal bases in bunches, too.”

Davis leads the National League in virtually every offensive category. He is living up to his billing. Strawberry helped prepare him, telling him to relax, to stay within himself, to measure improvement on his own terms, not someone else’s.

“Darryl has lived with pressure all his life,” Davis said. “People were always saying big things about him. I hope I can handle it as well as he has.”

They have known each other since high school, when they were both basketball and baseball stars in the inner city.

They were brought together by Earl Brown in the summer of 1979 to play for the Compton Moose, a Babe Ruth League team.

“Eric was the shortstop and I played right field and pitched,” Strawberry said. “We had a great time together. We’d get there five minutes before a game started and then blow out the other team. We shared a lot of dreams, and now they’re coming true.”

That was an age of innocence, and Strawberry is trying to recapture it. Baseball as it should be, he said. The good old days. Not too high, not too low. A lot of fun.

“Everybody is wondering if I can play this way for the rest of the year,” he said. “Of course, I can. I plan to play this way for the rest of my career. It’s my dream now. Mine and Darryl Jr.’s. He’s the reason for everything that’s happening in my heart.”