Strawberry Talks About Addictions

Baseball was the easy part for Darryl Strawberry, the former New York Yankee slugger who is in a Tampa, Fla., hospital battling to beat his addiction to drugs as he fights cancer and tries to avoid prison.

“Drinking and drugging, that was the big deep hole,” Strawberry said in an interview airing tonight on “60 Minutes.”

“Women, you know, not one, not two, but you know, women, women, women, and I just couldn’t get myself away from it. I was addicted to it. I was addicted to the women. I was addicted to the drinking. I was addicted to the drugs,” he said.

Strawberry, 39, talked about his battles with cocaine and colon cancer and his latest flight from court-ordered drug rehabilitation. He is expected to go before a judge May 4, accused of violating terms of his sentence for a 1999 drug and prostitution solicitation arrest. Prosecutors want him to go to prison. His attorney, Joe Ficarrotta, hopes he will be sent to a secure facility for drug treatment and mental health help.

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Friends and baseball rivals remembered the joy Willie Stargell brought to life and the game at a funeral at Wilmington, N.C., for the Pittsburgh Pirate legend.

“He was my hero. He’s the reason I wore No. 8,” fellow Hall of Famer and TV commentator Joe Morgan told a packed congregation at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Stargell died Monday at age 61. He had suffered from a kidney disorder for several years.

Morgan told those in the 400-seat church that he and Stargell were friends for about 40 years during and after their playing careers. He teared up as he described meeting and playing against the man he picked as the role model for his own pro career.

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The Reds will meet with Cincinnati officials Monday to determine if riots in the city will force the team to alter its schedule next week. A curfew was imposed Thursday after rioting was sparked by the shooting of Timothy Thomas, the fourth black man killed by Cincinnati police since November. . . . Pitcher Sid Fernandez retired again, his bid to make it back to the major leagues with the Yankees cut short by a sore knee. The 38-year-old left-hander made one start for triple-A Columbus before going on the disabled list. . . . Right fielder Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies sat out the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks because of a sprained left ankle. He is expected to sit out today’s series finale but Colorado hopes to have him back after an off day Monday. . . . Cincinnati’s Barry Larkin sat out the game against the New York Mets because of a strained left wrist and isn’t expected back until Tuesday at the earliest.