When New York Mets legend Darryl Strawberry opened up about substance abuse during the '80s: "It became a lifestyle for me"

Darryl Strawberry of the New York Mets was a star MLB player and was known for his prodigious home runs in his Major League Baseball career. Unfortunately, Strawberry’s illustrious MLB career was marred by his substance abuse during the ‘80s.

Strawberry once confessed living the high life cost him and Dwight Gooden more championship opportunities with the Mets. He was candid and opened up about substance abuse during his time there.

As reported by Sports Illustrated in 1995, after games, Strawberry frequently walked out of the clubhouse carrying cans of alcohol in a paper bag. He and Gooden would load up big bottles of Stolichnaya vodka into their carry-on luggage to bring on team charter flights.

"If we wouldn't have partied so much, we would have won more," Strawberry said. "We had a team full of drunks. We'd go into a town and couldn't wait to go out drinking and partying, always asking each other, 'Hey, where you going tonight?' If we had 24 guys on the learn in those days, at least half of them were hard drinkers or drug users. That was a hard-living team."

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"Darryl Strawberry To Delonte West, I'll Help You Beat Drug Addiction" – TMZ

Strawberry spoke about how he got addicted to alcohol and women.

"It became a lifestyle for me," Strawberry added. "Drink, do coke, get women, do something freaky...all that stuff. I did it for so long. I played games when I was drunk, or just getting off a drunk or all-night partying or coming down off amphetamines.”

Darryl Strawberry’s last MLB appearance was in 1999.

Darryl Strawberry calls Dwight Gooden a 'Junkie-Addict'

Gooden and Strawberry made headlines because of their downfall from MLB superstars to troubled drug addicts.

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When Gooden denied taking drugs and said that he was not addicted to drugs and alcohol, Darryl Strawberry disclosed the truth as per the Bleacher Report:

“He's a complete junkie-addict. I've been trying behind the scenes to talk to him and get him to go for help, but he won't listen. He thinks he can manipulate and BS his way through everything. His son called me to beg me to help his dad before he dies.”

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He further added:

“The condition Doc is in, it's bad, it's horrible. It's like cocaine poison. I feel like I've got to get it out there because nobody else is doing anything to help him, and it might be the only way to stop him.”

As a 19-year-old rookie, Gooden made his MLB debut for the Mets in 1984, and he quickly made a name for himself as one of the league's most talented pitchers. He was selected for his first of four All-Star games, winning the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award, and also led the league in strikeouts.