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Kobe Bryant’s death ‘hits home’ for his Mets idol Darryl Strawberry

Kobe Bryant may have been born in Philadelphia, but when it came to baseball the late NBA legend loved the Amazins.

“He would always tell me he was a Mets fan and that I was his favorite player,” Mets great Darryl Strawberry told the team’s official blog on Monday. “I was always honored when a great player like Kobe would say I was his favorite. So what happened Sunday naturally hits home for me.”

On Sunday, the 41-year-old Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others close to the family were killed in a Southern California helicopter crash while traveling to Bryant’s basketball facility.