Darryl Strawberry’s passionate message amid jersey retirement

He is among the memorable players on that team that included Dwight Gooden, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra and Ron Darling. All of those players made key contributions to that team, but when it came to hitting eye-catching home runs that brought the crowd to its feet, nobody could compare with Strawberry.

While it has been 34 years since he last played for the Mets, the team honored Strawberry by retiring his number prior to their game Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Throughout his career with the Mets, Strawberry was one of the game’s most imposing power hitters. He hit 252 of his career 294 home runs while wearing a Mets uniform. Strawberry played eight seasons for the Mets, and his best years came in 1987 and ’88. He hit 39 home runs in each of those seasons, and he led the National League in slugging percentage with a mark of .545 in ’88.

Strawberry thanked Mets fans with emotional speech

Strawberry explained that he did not even know where New York was when he was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft.

“Little did I know that I was coming to the greatest place in the world to play baseball,’ Strawberry said. “Little did I know that I would play in front of the greatest fans forever. There was nothing like playing in Queens. There was nothing like playing in Shea Stadium. The memories I have I will hold forever. I will always cherish them.”

The 62-year-old Strawberry is the team’s all-time home run leader. He suffered a heart attack earlier in the year and had to receive clearance from his doctors to travel to New York. He was also present when Gooden’s number was retired earlier this year.

In addition to playing for the Mets, Strawberry also played five seasons for the New York Yankees, three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and one year with the San Francisco Giants.

In addition to being a part of the 1986 World Championship team with the Mets, he was also part of three World Series-winning teams with the Yankees

Darryl Strawberry earned the rookie of the year award in 1983 with the Mets. He also made the All-Star team eight times. He won one Home Run Derby and is a two-time winner of the Silver Slugger award.