Cancer Concern Is Real for Strawberry

Darryl Strawberry has overcome a past checkered with drug and alcohol abuse, spousal abuse and a tax-evasion conviction to become one of the most productive and respected members of the New York Yankees, but today he faces an obstacle more daunting than all of his past problems combined: colon cancer.

Biopsies confirmed Thursday that a walnut-sized tumor found on Strawberry’s colon is malignant, and the Yankee slugger is scheduled to undergo surgery to have it removed Saturday at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.

News of Strawberry’s illness dropped like a mortar shell in the Yankees’ clubhouse at The Ballpark in Arlington, where a team that has sailed through a dream season, winning more games (114) than any team in American League history, felt as if it had been slapped in the face.

“We’re shocked, and everyone is scared,” said Yankee pitcher David Cone, who will wear Strawberry’s No. 39 on his cap for Game 3 of the division series against the Texas Rangers tonight.

“These life-and-death situations supersede baseball in every way, and when it strikes this close to home it shakes you up. Reality sets in, and you realize what’s important. You kind of forget about hanging a slider or the magnitude of the game.”

Strawberry is the second major leaguer to be given a colon cancer diagnosis in the past two seasons; in an incredibly ironic twist, the other was Baltimore Oriole outfielder Eric Davis, who is the same age as Strawberry (36) and has been a lifelong friend since their childhood days in South Central Los Angeles, where Strawberry attended Crenshaw High School and Davis Fremont.

“It’s amazing that Eric and Straw are so close and the same thing happened to both of them,” said Yankee designated hitter Chili Davis, who went to Dorsey High. “But Darryl can see how Eric battled through it and came back to have a productive season and go on with his life.

“Sometimes baseball seems to be the most important thing in our lives, and it’s not. We are not immortal, and we all know that.”

The Yankees released a statement saying that, because of the location of the tumor and Strawberry’s otherwise excellent health, the prognosis for a full recovery is excellent.

The disease causes about 54,000 deaths in the U.S. each year--the mortality rate is second among cancer sufferers behind lung cancer--but if discovered in the early or “localized” stage, when it is confined to the inside of the colon, the probability of surviving at least five years is higher than 90%.

The Yankees did not release specific details of Strawberry’s condition, but Davis, who spoke with Strawberry by phone from his Woodland Hills home Thursday, said Strawberry “indicated to me it wasn’t in lymph nodes or the blood and that it had not spread--that it’s confined in the colon the same way mine was.”

Doctors found a fist-sized tumor in Davis’ colon wall in June 1997. The tumor was removed, and after a 22-week chemotherapy program, Davis was deemed cancer free.

Davis returned to the Orioles last September, playing in the division series and the league championship series, and he hit .327 with 28 home runs and 89 runs batted in this season.

“You don’t have any choice but to stay positive,” said Davis, a teammate of Strawberry on the Dodgers in 1992-93. “Your mental state is so important because that’s what drives you. He’s been strong his whole life . . . he’s a warrior, and warriors don’t quit. . . . If he needs me, I’ll go to New York. I’ll be there for him to walk through every step.”

It was a conversation with Davis in Baltimore during the last week of the season that finally nudged Strawberry, whose mother died of breast cancer two years ago, into getting checked. He suffered from severe stomach cramps for two months but didn’t inform team physicians or trainers because he didn’t want to go on the disabled list.

But when he realized Davis’ pre-diagnosis symptoms were similar to his, he alerted the Yankees to his discomfort this week. At first, Strawberry was thought to have an infection, but a colonoscopy and biopsy confirmed his worst fears. Now Strawberry’s season--and perhaps his career--is over.

Strawberry called the Yankee clubhouse in Texas, speaking to Manager Joe Torre and pitcher Andy Pettitte, and Torre broke the news to players during a brief meeting, after which players emerged for their off-day workout visibly shaken.

“You think you have things all together, and then you realize your voice starts cracking,” Torre said. “It was very difficult. When I told them, there was complete silence and some sobbing. There were some very sad people in there.”

Sad not only because their teammate who leads all Yankees with 24 home runs has colon cancer, but because of the cruel timing of it. Strawberry’s career has been laced with problems and injuries and disappointment, but after a stint in the independent Northern League in 1996, Strawberry enjoyed a renaissance of sorts, signing with the Yankees and helping them to win the 1996 World Series and advance to the playoffs in 1997 and ’98.

“There’s no doubt he had a lot of turmoil in his life, but he really turned it around,” said Cone, a teammate of Strawberry’s on the Mets and Yankees. “He’s one of the most respected guys in the clubhouse, and he’s become a remarkable family man.

“He came full circle and made a point to educate people about his problems. He wanted others to avoid the mistakes he made. . . . He has the strength to deal with this.”

Strawberry, who is married and has four children, wanted Pettitte to send a message to the Yankees.

“The big thing was he asked for us to pray for him,” Pettitte said. “We should just continue to pray for him and his wife. He said he was going to be fine, and he wanted us to go out and win this. He said the Lord was going to take care of him.”