‘Darr-ull!’ Enjoys the Noise

“Darr-ull!”

In the 1986 World Series at Fenway Park in Boston, that new cheer was introduced into the grand old game. It stuck.

It was at once mocking and derisive, designed to get a rise out of the athlete it was directed to, the right fielder of the New York Mets.

It was scornful, insulting, as only Red Sox fans know how to get. It reinforced the notion Darryl Strawberry was somehow a poor little rich boy who went around being picked on, a petulant child who hadn’t grown up, a guy who made a million dollars a year and felt sorry for himself. The Sox fans were merciless. It was more fun than booing. They were sure they were getting to Darryl Strawberry.

If they were, Darryl decided not to let them know it. He had to make a decision right there whether to sulk, pout, give the fans the Italian salute, take it out on autograph-seekers--or whether he should smile, doff his cap and pretend they were throwing bouquets at him.

There is something about Darryl Eugene Strawberry that inspires these extremes of vocal passion. He is a massively talented young man. Darryl Strawberry with a bat on his shoulder is one of the inspiring sights in sports. Every at-bat is an adventure. An electricity goes through the park when Darryl Strawberry comes to the plate. He stands fairly erect, all 6 feet 6 of him, crouches only slightly, wriggling the bat menacingly. When the ball comes, he lifts his right leg and strides into the pitch, the bat descending in a vicious down-and-up trajectory. It is a sight no pitcher could relish. It is great theater. There is a lot of strike zone there but there is a lot of lightning- fast bat there, too.

There is so much talent there, public expectations are sometimes unreasonable. No matter what Darryl Strawberry does, it looks less than his best. He is such an imposing figure at the plate, the fans figure he should homer every time up. (The best year in home-run history saw Babe Ruth getting a homer every nine times at bat in 1927. Strawberry didn’t do badly last year--a homer every 14.5 times at bat.)

Darryl Strawberry does not swing for average. His stroke is too long and looping for that. He has never hit less than 26 home runs in a season in his career.

But, to turn “Darr-ull!” into a paean of affection and admiration, he had to clean up his act. Darryl quit the nightclub circuit, corked the bottle. He went to church instead of discos.

But, when he jumped the Mets for the Dodgers over the winter for some of the biggest bucks in the game, public expectations escalated. But New Yorkers warned the Dodgers they were getting “Darr-ull!”--not the pennant.

But Darryl Strawberry has turned “Darr-ull!” into a welcome sound of affection and admiration. He had a (for him) horrendous first half, in large part because of his crashing into an outfield wall and shattering shoulder muscles. He tried to play 10 games when he had to muffle a scream every time he swung a bat before he finally went on the disabled list where the doctors say he should have been in the first place.

Strawberry found his stroke as soon as his shoulder healed. He has hit more home runs (15) in the second half of the season than anyone in the league. He is leading the club in homers, tied for the lead in runs batted in and second in runs scored. The season is, finally, a Strawberry shortcake.

In a way, he traces his turnaround to those nights in right field in Fenway Park and the chant “Darr-ull!”

“Some place, I decided the game should be fun,” he explains. “I could have gotten mad and resentful. Instead, I decided this was what the game was all about. This was the fun of it. They were having fun. Why shouldn’t I have some? These moments will never come again.”

And it has paid off. “I decided to smile and appreciate the fact they singled me out,” he says. “I have grown into a professional with the maturity that comes with being a professional. I let the fans know I enjoy their attention. I egg them on. It’s a great feeling that they know my name. It’s a motivating factor. Not an arrogant thing. It’s recognition, and that’s what we all want, right? I don’t let the crowd distract me. They’re letting you know you’re something special.”

His manager, Tom Lasorda, approves of his new go-with-it cleanup hitter. “Darryl is the type of ballplayer who can literally carry a ballclub,” says Lasorda. “When he gets hot, his home runs come in bunches. When we win a game 9-7, he drives in seven runs. When we win 3-2, he drives in three. Only a few guys do that--a Mike Schmidt, Andre Dawson, Johnny Bench. And a Darryl Strawberry.

“I told Darryl in spring training, he has a chance to be one of the very, very popular players in Dodger history. He can be a leader on this club, he has the personality for it and the respect. I told him to enjoy it.”

For Darryl, it probably had its beginnings when he first heard “Darr-ull!” that taunting refrain showering down from the Boston fans. It took root with that when, he says, he began to realize that, even with the pressures of the major leagues, baseball, like life itself, was meant to be enjoyed, not suffered. Lots of guys leave the game with hits and homers records. But how many leave with a cheer all their very own?