Sports

Deeper Mission For Former Saints Star Strawberry

(WCCO) Darryl Strawberry has lived about six lives. An All-Star baseball player who spent the summer of 1996 with the St. Paul Saints, he's battled drugs and cancer yet he's still standing with a deeper mission.

Strawberry was in Minnesota this week for the American Association league's All-Star game.

Back in 1996, Strawberry came to the St. Paul Saints for a memorable six-week run to re-energizing his baseball career and appetite.

"I forgot what baseball really was like until I actually got here and started playing for the St. Paul Saints and the fans. And interacting with the fans and the people here and I realized they were real people," he said.

Back then a younger Mike Veeck and Bill Murray, owners of the St. Paul Saints, were there watching his effortless swing and helping him re-design his life.

"I told him we only have two rules: we sign autographs for kids and we're going to drug test him. And he, gosh, he was so eloquent," said Veeck.

He came back to St. Paul this week to speak about his new focus: helping autistic children.

"We don't have children that are affected with autism but it's touched our lives tremendously. It's changed my life ... looking at the families," said Strawberry.

"It was breathtaking today, I thought. You know, you want to pleased for someone but that was, really that's like a two or three day smile for me," said Saints Owner and actor Bill Murray.

Strawberry's career ended with World Series titles with the New York Yankees. You sense after he's been through, his calling is not about that.

"Who did I help, who did I help in life that had struggles? Who did I help that had painful things that they had to deal with? What difference did I make in those people's lives?" said Strawberry.

 

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