Strawberry faces cancer surgery, financial problems
Another sour turn in the saga of Darryl Strawberry.
As the eight-time all-star prepares to have a tumor removed from his stomach on Monday -- his second cancer operation in two years at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York -- accusations of his failure to pay child support have surfaced.
On Sunday, the Daily News of New York reported that Strawberry has failed to make payments to his former wife Lisa, for their two children, since late December.
"It's very unfortunate that all of his problems seem to trickle down to me," Lisa Strawberry told the newspaper. "He's delinquent in all aspects. ... I shouldn't have to beg for my children to be taken care of."
With a monthly child support bill of $3,186, Strawberry owes $22,000 in back payments for his 12-year-old daughter, Diamond, and a 15-year-old son, Darryl Jr.
And Strawberry is also apparently without savings to support his Charisse, his current wife, and their three children.
Strawberry has been suspended since February by major league baseball for yet another positive drug test. But before the return of the cancer, he was lobbying to have the suspension lifted, arguing he had the right to earn a living and feed his family.
"My understanding, from talking to Darryl and his agent, is that Darryl has some very difficult financial circumstances he has to deal with," Marvin Goldklang, a minority owner of the Yankees told the Daily News. "There's no question he has to earn money to support his family."
Goldkang, also the owner of an independent minor league club, the St. Paul Saints, has offered Strawberry employment as a part-time coach and community relations worker. But Strawberry's cancer makes a job with the Saints, with whom he played in 1996, an unrealistic prospect for the foreseeable future.
Strawberry also has $1 million US in deferred payments owed to him by the Mets. But he won't be able to start receiving that money, which is payable over 10 years, until he retires.
And Strawberry, considered a inevitable hall of famer at the start of his career, still harbours ambitions of returning to the playing field.
Once he turns 45, Strawberry will be eligible to receive $32,600 a year, his baseball pension. And if he waits until he turns 62, Strawberry will be able to draw $112,221 each year from the league.
But for now, Strawberry has to wait on his health.
In 1998, the 38-year old Strawberry was sidelined just days before the World Series after doctors diagnosed colon cancer. A 6.4 centimetre tumour was removed from his intestine and doctors also took out one of his lymph nodes after further tests showed that the cancer had spread there as well.
Strawberry began his career with the New York Mets and later played in Los Angeles and San Francisco. After the surgery and chemotherapy, Strawberry rejoined the Yankees last season before being suspended by the team after an arrest on drug and solicitation charges.