Cancer Type – Colon
Bio – The baseball star battled addictions and colon cancer, almost giving up on his life.
Short Story – He played 17 years in the Major League Baseball league. Known for his home runs and intimidating stature, he stood six-foot-six, he helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series championship in 1986 and the New York Yankees to three World Series championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
In 1998 Strawberry was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery to remove a walnut-sized tumor. The cancer had spread into his lymph nodes, causing him to undergo chemotherapy. In January 1999 his tests revealed he was cancer free. Yet, it wasn’t.
Cancer continued to spread through his body during the year of 2000, and he had to remove another tumor from one of his lymph nodes in the addition to the removal of a kidney.
Strawberry’s fame led him to drug addiction and a few run-in’s with the law. During his treatment and continued addiction, Strawberry was fighting to stay out of the penal system and lost his will to live, “I have stopped chemo and given up on my will to live.”
He was sentenced to rehab and imprisoned until 2006. He regained his life and is now, a Christian Pastor with his wife Tracy. He now uses his past to help others.
Image Credits – By Greg2600 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
| Born | March 12, 1962 (age 58), Los Angeles, California |
| Batted: Left | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| May 6, 1983, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 1999, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .259 |
| Home runs | 335 |
| Runs batted in | 1,000 |
| Teams | |
| New York Mets (1983–1990) | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (1991–1993) | |
| San Francisco Giants (1994) | |
| New York Yankees (1995–1999) | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| 8× All-Star (1984–1991) | |
| 4× World Series champion (1986, 1996, 1998, 1999) | |
| NL Rookie of the Year (1983) | |
| 2× Silver Slugger Award (1988, 1990) | |
| NL home run leader (1988) | |
| New York Mets Hall of Fame | |
