Stardom No Buffer to Pain : Unrest: Dodgers’ Strawberry is torn by rioters’ anger, the wounding of his brother.

When he was a New York Met, Darryl Strawberry couldn’t wait to come home to Los Angeles.

The dream came true in 1990, when Strawberry became a Dodger. But after the events of the past week, home isn’t what it used to be.

The riots here touched a personal chord when Strawberry’s brother Michael, a Los Angeles policeman, was grazed in the head by a bullet Friday morning when his patrol car was ambushed in South-Central Los Angeles.

Michael, two years older than Darryl, was wounded in the same neighborhood where he and Darryl grew up.

One of three officers in the car, Michael was in the passenger’s seat when the shots rang out.

“I was watching on TV when I heard that officers were down,” said the Strawberrys’ mother, Ruby. “They gave the name of the area and I knew that’s where Michael was. I knew that was him.”

Ruby awakened Darryl with a phone call.

“There’s just a numb feeling when it happens to you,” Darryl said.

“You know your brother’s out there working. You hope and pray that part never happens. That’s basically what I did in the whole situation. I hoped and prayed that it would never happen. But so many people out there in South-Central have nowhere to go and nothing to live for.”

Strawberry made his comments after a morning workout at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. This weekend’s series with the Montreal Expos was postponed because of the riots.

Michael Strawberry was treated at Daniel Freeman Hospital and released.

His mother said her son is suffering from severe headaches and still has metal fragments in his head.

But he was lucky.

Darryl, who escaped to a life of baseball and stardom, is coming to grips with both sides of issue. He understands the anger that ignited the unrest, but his brother risked his life to protect innocent citizens.

“It’s hard,” Strawberry said. “My brother is a role model for me, being in the community, trying to always to keep peace in the community. He did so many things, helping kids with programs, with the LAPD.

“What people have to understand is that you have a mentality out there in South-Central that is way far out of reach. They have seen a black man (Rodney King) beaten by four white officers. That’s what the mentality is. There is nothing that can change their thoughts about the situation. That’s why we’re having such a very difficult time right now.”

Some would argue that Strawberry cannot relate to the community in which he once lived.

Strawberry denied that. He and teammate Eric Davis, a friend since childhood, still devote time to their old neighborhoods.

Money doesn’t wash away the memories.

“It’s never easy to walk away,” Strawberry said. “But I can see them, I know that they’re hurting inside. I know where they’re coming from. I know what’s triggering those people to react like that. It’s never easy, no matter how good my situation might look.”