Let's make one thing clear: Former New York Mets slugger Darryl Strawberry should have kept quiet about his bizarre and inappropriate clubhouse escapades. Literally no good came from his comments.
It made for bad press, both for the former slugger and the franchise. How exactly did the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year cause such a stir? Strawberry, 54, revealed earlier this week that he had sexual relations between innings with women in the stands, using the Shea Stadium clubhouse as a private bedroom.
Is this something that needed to be made public? Did the world need to hear about Strawberry's off-the-field shenanigans? Absolutely not. Most Mets fans probably cringed upon hearing the legendary slugger's comments. Strawberry should have taken his dirty secrets to the grave. This isn't something the public needed to know about.
By opening up about his romps in the clubhouse, Strawberry tarnished his own career as well as the legacy of the 1986 Mets. His legal and health problems have been well-documented, with issues ranging from drug abuse to a lengthy battle with colon cancer.
Strawberry's latest issue is perhaps his most bizarre and uncomfortable of them all. This is something that could really hurt his legacy, as it's proof he was distracted during games. Imagine how good the two-time Silver Slugger Award winner could have been if he wasn't fooling around with women during games? Fans can only wonder.
"Straw" spilled the beans today on Mad Dog Radio, saying it was an easy operation that included the efforts of the clubhouse attendant. Apparently all Strawberry had to do was point to the woman in the crowd he wanted to engage with, and the clubhouse attendant would take it from there.
Hopefully these types of situations don't happen in modern-day baseball. It's highly doubtful that Terry Collins would allow such distractions to exist, and clubhouse attendants these days probably wouldn't risk getting involved.
The only good to come of Strawberry's comments is that it builds awareness for how wild the 1986 Mets were. Luckily, the 2016 installment of the Mets is much more well-behaved.