Four days after suffering a massive heart attack, three-time World Series Champion Darryl Strawberry was released from the hospital on Friday and resting comfortably at his home in O’Fallon, Mo.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com wrote that Strawberry is “feeling good,” but the doctors have grounded him for a month. No traveling or preaching, he said, as he recovers in St. Louis.
“The doctor said I need to take some time off and relax,” Strawberry said via telephone with Ladson. “I have a monitor that I have to wear right now so the doctors can keep up with me.”
Strawberry, who turned 62 on Tuesday, spent his birthday in a hospital bed and according to him, doctors believe his heart problems occurred five days earlier. His heart rate was hovering around 40 when he checked in to St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis, Missouri.
The seven-time All-Star credits his wife, Tracy, with saving his life. She insisted that he needed to go to the emergency room after suffering chest pains on Monday.
“It was that bad,” Strawberry said. “[The doctor said], ‘You are a miracle… and you had a major blockage in the main artery.’ My wife is really the key. After we had lunch, she said, ‘You are getting in this car and I’m driving, or the ambulance is picking you up. I said, ‘Oh, don’t call the ambulance to the house.’ From there, it was up to the doctors. It was left in their hands. The doctors did a phenomenal job. The people there were so gracious. They took care of me.”
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Strawberry has dealt with his fair share of health scares. He had colon cancer in 1998 while playing for the New York Yankees and two years later, he had a kidney removed during cancer surgery.
“I have a lot to be thankful for all the work that I have been able to do, and I will continue to do,” he said. “I feel it’s another sign where [the Lord] is saying, ‘I’m not done with you yet. I know you think this is really challenging. I’m still not done with what I called you to do.'”
He has a lot to look to look forward to once he is healthy. Not only is he anxious to return to his traveling ministry, he will have his No. 18 retired by the Mets on June 1 becoming the 10th player in franchise history to have the honor. He will join Dwight Gooden (whose number will be retired on April 14), Willie Mays, Keith Hernandez, Jerry Koosman, Mike Piazza, Jackie Robinson, Tom Seaver, Gil Hodges and Casey Stengel.
Strawberry spent eight years with the Mets and won two National League East division titles, one National League pennant, and one World Series title. He remains the franchise leader with 252 home runs.
He also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees.
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