CUMBERLAND — Former Major League Baseball player Darryl Strawberry ministered to inmates Thursday afternoon at the Western Correctional Institute.
The former New York Mets and Yankees slugger has been traveling the United States, speaking at prisons and churches for more than 15 years.
“Everyone has done something,” said Strawberry. “We all hurt. We have all fallen short of the mark. The devil will always try to pull you down into that pit but Jesus Christ will always carry the cross for you if you let him,” Strawberry told the inmates.
Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in baseball during his 17-year career. He helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series championship in 1986 and helped the Yankees win titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
He said he turned from a life of drug abuse to accepting Jesus Christ as his savior and became an ordained Christian pastor. He started Strawberry Ministries and began preaching the Gospel across the country.
Strawberry spoke to about 100 inmates Thursday in the prison gym. WCI Chaplain Jay Atkinson opened the event with the AME Worship Team Band, made up of inmates.
In his presentation, he shared his story of addiction, which landed him in jail multiple times, including an 11-month sentence served in Florida in 2002 and 2003.
“I share my own life experiences with them,” Strawberry said prior to the event. “I can relate. I’ve been where they are.”
He said people and hope keep him motivated.
“We are all souls is what Billy Graham said. It’s about winning souls,” he said. “I’m called to do that. It’s inside my heart because the Lord saved me.”
Strawberry was well received, with the inmates on their feet for the majority of the hour-long program. He spoke at the North Branch Correction Institute before speaking at WCI. On Wednesday he spoke in Hagerstown at the Maryland Correctional Institute and the Roxbury Correctional Institute.
“I speak life to people and let them know that there is a greater purpose in knowing Christ,” he said. “There is a greater life after this for them.”
Strawberry and his wife live in Troy, Missouri, near St. Louis. He grew up in South Central Los Angeles, and ultimately led the life of a “heathen” for many years, he said.
“The message of the Gospel is freely given to us from God,” said Strawberry. “The enemy doesn’t want us to stay connected to God. I always tell people they don’t have to wait until they hit bottom. God will take care of you if you open your heart and let him.”