No Quiet Receptions for Strawberry Anymore

Fans began grumbling even before Darryl Strawberry was introduced in the second inning.

There were many at Anaheim Stadium Saturday who had come to bury Strawberry, not praise him. A more notorious player in the major leagues would certainly be hard to find.

Strawberry, hardened by years of such heckling, slapped an 0-and-1 pitch into right field for a single. The large New York Yankee contingent in attendance cheered, drowning out the boos.

By the end of the game, Strawberry had two hits and scored two runs in a 14-3 Yankee victory over the Angels. But right down to his last at bat, fans expressed their opinion. There is no fence sitting in a Darryl Strawberry public forum.

Yankee fans love him. In July, they gave him a 25-second standing ovation before his first at-bat after returning from baseball oblivion.

Other fans? Well, there were many Saturday well versed in the Darryl, Darryl, Darryl sing-song chant. Practice does make perfect.

So, Angel fans booed and Yankee fans cheered, except in the third when Strawberry was walked intentionally with runners on second and third. Then they all booed.

Strawberry, meanwhile, just remained oblivious.

“I’ve been hearing that stuff for years,” Strawberry said. “Why would it bother me now? It’s nothing new. Why would it get me upset? It’s just how society is today.”

A Strawberry lecture on society’s low road might seem a bit inconsistent considering his past. He has, after all, covered a wide variety of society’s “don’ts,” from tax evasion to substance abuse to domestic violence. Not exactly what one would call Cooperstown credentials.

Yet there is a little more ease to Strawberry these days. A year ago, he rolled through Anaheim with the Yankees wary and unapproachable. He waved off interview request with his hand and “No, No,” was his only comment.

This season, Strawberry will talk, especially about this being the first day of the rest of his career.

“Anything that I do this year is gravy,” said Strawberry, who in July signed a one-year contract in July with an option for 1997. “I’m at the point where I’m building right now.”

His work hasn’t been entirely trouble free. Strawberry had to turn over his $260,000 signing bonus to make good on back child support. He also played a prominent role in the bench-clearing brawl with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

But he hasn’t been the player General Manager Bob Watson said wouldn’t “fit in.”

Watson, who said Strawberry would not return to the Yankees, was over-ruled by owner George Steinbrenner. It has proven to be one of his better decisions.

Strawberry is hitting .276 with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in since joining the Yankees on July 7. He went 0 for 10 on his return, then hit two home runs against the Baltimore Orioles. On Aug. 6, he hit three home runs against the Chicago White Sox and then two more against them two days later.

Saturday, Strawberry walked and scored in the Yankees’ seven-run third inning. He then doubled to drive in Bernie Williams in the fourth.

“I haven’t had a full season in four years,” Strawberry said. “It took a while to to get used to major league pitching again.

Fans, though, seemed to able to pick up where they left off.