When the Dodgers signed free agent Darryl Strawberry away from the New York Mets in 1990, manager Tommy Lasorda compared it to the Los Angeles Kings acquiring Wayne Gretzky.
Coming off perhaps his best season as a professional in 1990, the tall, lanky kid from Crenshaw High School was ready to take on Hollywood. A prodigious home run hitter, Strawberry made Shea Stadium, with its expansive outfield similar to Dodger Stadium, look small. He hit 252 home runs over his first eight seasons with the Mets, including 37 the season before leaving Flushing.
Strawberry had risen to the tallest heights of stardom in New York, winning the World Series as a key player in 1986, all the while struggling with substance abuse issues.