Darryl Strawberry: Another Life

0:00I called it that fake part of the living because we want everybody to praise us. But at the same time, have I ever dealt with the brokenness on the inside, the reality of not having a father in my life? I think a lot of times we as African-Americans, we don't have father figures in our life and we have to search for it and we try to search for it and everything else, women, cars, money, drugs, whatever brings pleasure. But at the end of the day, you still have to go home to you and lay on that couch and you still empty on the inside and I was no different than anybody else. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of McUnplod and today I'm extremely honored. I'm humbled because I get to talk to my hero. He is a three-time World Series champion, eight-time All-Star, one of the most feared hitters in Major League Baseball history.

1:01But his life isn't about that. His most remarkable feat is some giving back to communities, helping lead others to Christ and just making an impact on the world. Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome my hero, Mr. Darryl Strauss. Well, thank you so much, Mick. I'm honored. I appreciate you having me on your show. Like we were talking before, you said you have reached out to me when I had some healthy issues and I said, one day maybe I have the opportunity to get on your show and sit here and break bread, which here we are, brother. Mick and Strauss, Barry. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Mick and the Strauss, man. This is so surreal for me because when I call you my hero, man, it's on so many levels. It's because of you that as an African-American kid, I played baseball growing up. It's because of you that as a college student, I was okay talking about my faith and not being ashamed to say I love Jesus out loud. It's because of you, man, that I'm a better human being.

2:02And so I owe you so much gratitude and I want to give you your flowers while you're here. Well, again, like I said, it means so much to me to be able to just have an impact for people in general, especially for people of color, African-Americans and what we come from because we come from the struggle. And we know how hard it is to get out of the struggle, but there is a way out and we must always remind our people that you can't get out. Don't stereotype yourself and let people dictate who you are. You have to find out who you are through your journey more than anything. And I think the struggle of the journey that one goes through brings you to a greater place. A lot of times people want to project what you should be. I am what I am. I'm where I suppose to be and I'm grateful for God's grace that He has given me this opportunity. Amen to that brother. Amen to that. And when we talk about your life and we talk about another life in the book that we're going to get into, this amazing book that's released,

3:08I always ask my guest this first question about what is your because? That thing that's deeper than your why, right? Like if I were to say what's your why, you might say, you know, my wife, my kids, but when I say but why, that sentence usually begins with well because. So if I were to ask the straw man, like all the amazing things that you're doing today, what's your because? Why do you continue to do the things that you do? Because of my mother, because of her raising five of us by herself, not having a male figure in the house and having to go through your own personal challenges in life. Because of that gave me strength, gave me courage. What I mean by that is to never quit no matter what it may look like. I just remember quitting in high school my freshman year in baseball and I realized from that day forward that I would never quit again no matter what came against me. And I had to go through some very difficult challenges through minor league baseball and people calling me out of my name and boys and this and that.

4:16I had to deal with some racial things, but I did not quit because if you give up, you never know the miracle that might be on the other side. I wouldn't be sitting here with a successful baseball career plan 17 years in the major leagues, even with pain, but still at the same time, great because I wanted to achieve. I wanted to prove to my father that he was wrong about us and that was my goal. I love that. I love that so much. You know, the standout that you were at Krenshaw High School and almost going to I think it was Oklahoma State, right? Like if it were 2026, I would have said, Darrell, Oklahoma State came with a bag in the L.A. Like walk us through that illustrious high school career that you had, man. And like, what was that like one being recruited and then saying, I think I'm going to go to the major leagues. Well, it was pretty cool going to Krenshaw High.

5:16A lot of people were talking about L.A. Talk about Krenshaw High like they really went to school there, but I actually went to school there and walked on those grounds and saw everybody and saw everything and saw great athletes that came out of there before me. Like Marcus Johnson, Ellis Valentine, Window Tyler, Chris Brown. I just wanted to be another part of that and I was a part of that history with our baseball team. But it started in basketball because of my basketball coaches, Willie West and Joe Winkley, they bought discipline. And if you wasn't disciplined enough, you wouldn't play. You'll sit on the bench, even though I was good. If you did any type of in practice in school, you were going to get serious punishment. You're going to be on the line running suicides all day. So I was, that was the learning curves and it taught me a lot about who I wanted to be. And then when I went into baseball, I just kind of fell back into my lap after my junior year in high school.

6:16We played at Dodger Stadium because John L. went and now we lost the city championship. I got a real taste of it and a lot of scouts from scouting a lot of players. And then my first day back out to play baseball after that basketball season after winning the city championship. There I was in the spotlight, you know, 50 scouts there to see me play. And I like struck out three times. I was like laughing to myself and say, why are you guys here to see me? And it was just big deal of who I was supposed to be. And I tell you, Nick, I just wanted to be normal. Growing up in self-central, you don't expect yourself to be a person where fame takes over you. Yes, I'm famous and yes, I went on to be that. But at the same time, I had this great humility about myself because of being raised by a mother who taught me right. Which was so important. And I think a lot of times we disregard that and realize how important that is because if you don't forget about that, you're going to come back to that place of where you was raised and who you were raised by.

7:22And eventually that will all play out in your life. And I think the whole journey was an incredible journey. We're good at showing our success of what we have and the stuff and look at me from the outside perspective. But really deep down inside, who am I? And I think we all want to know that. We all ask that question when we reach that pinnacle to the top. And I reached that like nobody know the athlete just like all the same. No different. We all the same when it comes to what we accomplish. I totally agree. And you know, I've got a quote from you that I started reading it in high school. And it kind of it helped me balance the business life of me. And you said success exposes who you are. Right. And for me, that was so important to understand almost what you're talking about. It's always a grounded. Right. Because if you're not grounded and you don't know who you are, having more money, having more fame, having more success is just going to make that 100 times worse, better or whatever that is.

8:30So talk to us a little bit about that and what you meant by success exposes who you are. Well, because we truly end up with the wrong identity, I think we all search for great success and to have stuff. And a lot of times we all get the stuff, but still who am I at the end of the day? I think a lot of us don't ever come to that place because there's an empty void on the inside. And that's why we accumulate more stuff to try to make us feel better. It just doesn't. The cars are cars houses the house. No matter how big the house here is, how big of a car you have, we just have a little bit more fame and a little bit more open doors to open things. There's never no, no, as always, yes, wherever you go, people that you walk and do whatever you want to do. And I tell people all the time in this life, you can pick your sins, but you cannot pick the consequences. At some point, the consequences of life are going to come. And when they do come, where do you go?

9:30And most of the time, you can't turn to what you have because eventually stop working. I had every lawyer, I had every doctor to go to. Of course, I ended up being healed from cancer twice and had every situation to go through with lawyers to get me out of this trouble. But still, it's still always trying to feel this empty void on the inside of us. It's a match to outside. The outside is what becomes that I call it that fake part of the living more than anything because we want everybody to praise us. But at the same time, how about ever deal with the brokenness on the inside, the reality of not having a father in my life? I think a lot of times, you know, we as African-Americans, we don't have father figures in our life. And we have to search for it and we try to search for it.

10:32And everything else, women, cars, money, drugs, whatever brings pleasure. But at the end of the day, you still have to go home to you and lay on that couch and you still empty on the inside. And I was no different than anybody else. I totally believe that brother. I totally believe that. And I'm going to give you an unplugged truth right here. Because you don't know this, you wouldn't know this. You've also said something that forgiveness is harder than discipline. And I got to understand what that meant this year. And I'm about to say something that nobody really ever knows. But my dad passed away earlier this year in March, April, April 1st. But I didn't have a relationship with my dad. I grew up in the same household with my dad until I was 18. But he was never there. He was physically there.

11:32But emotionally, like what that son needs, like he wasn't there. And I had a chip on my shoulder for a very long time because I didn't want to be him. And I didn't understand forgiveness when he passed until I got a book in the mail called another life. And it helped me understand that I don't necessarily have to forgive him, but I need to forgive myself. I can forgive myself for maybe not trying to have the connection or maybe not trying to check in or whatever. So I want to thank you for helping me understand forgiveness, but more importantly forgiveness of myself, probably, because another life, and I know that that wasn't the whole theme of another life. We'll talk about that. But I needed you for forgiveness, man. Well, thank you for sending it. And that's probably why I'm on your show because I thought of the fact that you reaching out to me, this has to be a real person that really want to have a real conversation.

12:33A lot of times people just want to have conversations. And I reject a lot of conversations of getting online. And it's about getting to the place of being real with ourselves more than anything. And being able to unplug all these things that are in our life, because we have a lot of things that we don't deal with. And that I didn't deal with my entire career was forgiveness of my father. I thought that forgiveness was for him the whole time. But God had to stop me and allow me to go to every stop that I needed to go to before I reinvented my life and became a different person and became a man of faith. And now when I come to this place, I see the difference and understand the symbol of the cross. That's where forgiveness was at for all. And once you understand that, then you understand you how to go back and extend it to someone else because my father led me to be a broken, he's a man.

13:42So hating him, I only made me suffer. And when I finally got to the place of going to extend my forgiveness to him, which he received and the conversation on his deathbed and leading him to the Lord at the same time, brought me to a greater place because the forgiveness was not for him. And that's the reason why so many of us walk around trying to fill these empty plugs inside of us with stuff and think it's going to heal us and it doesn't. I didn't receive healing until I extended that to my father. I had all this great success, worldly success and achievements and trophies and I had done all these great things. But in that moment of time, that's when I experienced freedom. That's when I experienced the release like I always been waiting for.

14:44I couldn't get it when I was playing baseball. I used to hit the ball so hard and thinking that it was my father's head because I was so angry and mad because I was holding all this stuff inside of me for many years. And when I finally experienced that, I walked out of the hospital and I remember the Lord speaking to me and saying, the forgiveness wasn't for your father was for you. And then he questioned me about the fact of, how dare you not forgive him and I forgave you. I extended grace to you so you need to understand what grace is. So now I truly understand grace more than anything. That's why I've been able to move forward because grace is something you don't deserve but it gives it to you anyway. And I'm so grateful that I do know that today. Matt, you just helped me and you didn't even realize it because I've been trying to express what this emotion is.

15:46And it is freedom, right? Like it's freedom and it's fulfillment. And you just helped me label that emotion man. Thank you so much for that. Oh, it's a it's a greater freedom than we think of achieving things. You've achieved so many of come on your show that have achieved poorly stuff like me. I've achieved all that but how about you that freedom that I want to walk with every day. That where I do like today where I could teach my kids by not talking about it but living it, being an action bit. Living and being a living epistle for Christ. What does that mean? That means written not an ink but written in spirit and truth. And that's how you live your life out and everybody looks at it and say, well, well, he needed that. Well, I'm glad I figured it out before it was too late because a lot of us just be here and will still be chasing after the affirmation of what everybody else wants to be.

16:52And I don't do that. I only chase after what Christ want me to be and what he's already done and how he's already completed the task for me to be this man that I always wanted to be. Not a baseball player, not an athlete, not what everybody else think is important. But at the end of the day, it's what type of man are you going to be when God sees you? And that's what I was always concerned about when I was playing baseball and winning and having the success. And even when I was lost in sin like I was, I just always throw it out there because it is important for people to understand that God does not condemn us. I mean, he truly loves the center more than you can ever imagine, but he hates to sin. And it's myself that make that decision to live a sinful lifestyle. So I am separating myself away from the love of God and I can experience his goodness. His goodness is greater than any any home run I ever had.

17:54Anything I've ever done and had success with is because it's true freedom. You have victory and freedom is different than just being. I think so many people have an experience that freedom in their life and I'm just so glad we get the opportunity to share this moment in. And just have you open up like that because that's how we get free. Yes, sir. I needed every moment of that too. I needed every moment of that. So I thank you so much. I have a segment that call the hot takes. And here's the hottest take that I have for Dale Strawberry is this right here. I told you that you helped me understand that I could be outward with my faith, but also to understand. And I heard this from you that Jesus was always there.

18:54He was just waiting on you to accept him. Talk to us about that journey of you finally saying yes, okay. Yes, I can't do it on my own anymore. Well, I think so many of us don't recognize that he's already completed the task for us. He's already done it. And he's always been there. He's very patient and he just waits for you. People always ask me, well, how did you find Jesus? Jesus has never been lost. It is us that are lost. And when we recognize that and when we look for him and when we come to the foot of a cross, now we will find him because we're looking for somebody that's totally different than any one of us. Why? Because he's a holy man and he's a righteous man. And he's going to purify you and he's going to clean you up and he's going to make you holy.

19:57He's going to make you separate than your own natural fleshly body is. And that's the importance of understanding that and that's what it was for me. I don't understand that until I actually went through discipleship and started understanding the Word of God. I mean, we understand worldly things. We understand every conversation, every news outlet, every politics that people want to fight over. But they don't understand the Bible. And it's all been there. It's been here forever. The problem is, is the Bible said my people perish because of lack of knowledge. As we have knowledge about everything else, but we don't have knowledge about eternal life. We don't have knowledge about living. And it wasn't until I actually opened the Word for myself and dove in to it. And that's when he poured it down inside of me. And that's when I started to live. That's when you start to live the abundant life. Not the life here. I have homes. I have success.

21:01But that's not a abundant life. That's an earthly life. He's talking about a abundant life where this doesn't have you. I have you. Now you get to experience the purpose of why I created you and the job that I have for you to do. You thought your job was baseball. You thought your job was football or basketball. You thought your job was business. You said, I got a job for you to be a light and darkness, an example of what crisis. Crisis good. And the thing about what we felt that realized is he's never lost the battle. And he's always been on time. So that's what we have to learn as people. He's his own time, God, and he's on time for you. And he was right on time for me. I'm grateful for every storm that I had to go through because it got me to this place where I'm out today. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And that's a great segue to a question that my high school baseball coach, because Brian Swartz, he wanted to ask you this question of, you know, being a baseball player at the highest level

22:05and all the discipline that it takes to be a professional athlete, plus the struggles that you've acknowledged. How is that shaped your life now as a minister to help reach other people? Well, training is so important to train yourself and learn how to be disciplined. You don't need anybody else to teach. Your coaches do teach you that. But you have to eventually grab a hold of it and you have to really put it down inside of you to learn what discipline is if you want to be great. I didn't need nobody to go out to the ballpark with me when I needed to train. I needed to go out there and run the bases by myself. And I needed to go out there and talk to myself and look up in the sky and tell myself how great I wanted to be. And it's sort of the same thing when you get a calling up on your life. This is the highest calling that a man could get when God calls you. And I realized that when he called me, it was time to go. It was nothing to play with anymore.

23:06So I had to separate myself from all the worldly people. Not that I'm any better than now. I just made a better decision for myself. And when I made that decision, I became a different person because that's when you start discipline yourself and that's when the transformation starts to come into your life. That's when he starts, God starts to train you up. Now you start hearing from God and staring at your outside noise of others' opinions. If you continue to listen to the opinions of others, you're going to always stay stuck in the same place and you're not going to grow. And I needed to grow. I was already great at what I was doing from an earthly standpoint. But I was nowhere close where I needed to be from a kingdom standpoint. So I had to discipline myself. I had to saturate myself in the word. I had to turn off the television. I had to turn off the cell phone. And I had the lay and I had the way to hear from the Holy Spirit to teach me the Bible, which he taught me to Bible supernaturally.

24:11I didn't go to school, but I went to the school of the Holy Spirit. And I think a lot of people think all these things are spooky, but that's how you learn who you are. And that's how you learn how God wants to put you in a place to be his masterpiece. He takes you from a mess to a message. And the message is greater than the mess you've ever been in. And I think that's what happened to me. And people look at my life and say, well, maybe that's something he needed. No, we all really needed. It's not saying that you need to be a preacher, but it needs... We need to be in that example of what Christ really is all about. And that's what I live today. I don't try to preach up people. I just try to live my life according to the scriptures and what the Word of God has taught me. Amen to that, brother. Amen to that. Was there a room? A dinner and meeting a moment that you remember that changed your life forever.

25:17I could probably say a lot of moments, but I think it was just the fact of my wife who led me back into church where I needed to be. Because I was out doing all kind of worldly things. And like I said, having everything and still living, saying Christ, but I'm still not living what Christ is. I'm not living the right way, not living the wholeness of Christ. I'm not living being married. I think it was a moment where me and Tracy came together and we were born for the girlfriend. And she finally looked at me and said, I can't do this anymore. I said, what do you mean? She says, I'm not living like this anymore. We're talking about living for Christ. We're not married. She says, I'm not having sex with you anymore. I said, what? And that was a defining moment. That was a defining moment in my life, because it changed me forever because that sent me off to go get right with God and get my heart in the right place and realize that God is not about a blessing when you're shocking up and you're saying you this and that.

26:26We're talking about what his principles are. And we did that. We came back together and we got married and we lived in the principles. Now we're blessed. We're not talking about stuff. We're not talking about having this and that. We're talking about being blessed by God, being used by God. God uses you, uses you mightily force kingdom when you live according to his principles the right way. A lot of times folks think they are getting away with things and no one gets away with God. Just put it like that. He sees everything. He knows everything. You know, I used to think I was getting away and he told me that when he called me the preach. He says, by the way, I need to let you know I saw everything you were doing. I was like, everything is like, yes, everything. And I explain to him. I explain to him. I said, God, why are you calling me? I'm not qualified to do this will. He says, no one is qualified. I qualified to call. And when I realized that and God took the place and I surrendered to that, my life became whole.

27:39And I mean, hold this. And I mean a different person. And I stopped thinking outside of the box and I started thinking inside of the box. And I started using the scriptures to continue to set me in my wife free that we would live the abundant life that he talks about. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. The book is called another life. What does another life mean to Darryl Strawberry? It's not how you started. It's how you finished this life. I think a lot of times people think it's about how you started what you have accomplished. That's just quote unquote man thing when you accomplish all these things and people see. But your finished part and your finished product is so important to the Lord that you finished strong and you finished with him and you finished on the right road, the right journey. And that's what another life is all about. Another life is the detail of everything about love, compassion, understanding others, helping others, going into places, communities and working with communities and having fun.

28:50And helping young kids to stay away from drugs, telling them how serious it is, the direction that's going to lead them. It's a dead end. Been there, done that. Going into maximum security prisons where guys got life not going in there to try to tell them what to do but try to show them that Christ loves you no matter what you are. There were mistakes made in my life there were mistakes made in their life. Nobody's a mistake. We just made a bunch of them. And I think people fell and realized that people always want to point the things that people that fall short but fall short is really a great thing. And that's what another life is all about teaching people because God will give you this whole different life and it has nothing to do with what you accomplished from a earthly thing. It's more about what you accomplished from a kingdom thing of his way of going back to show people that he is the one that cares.

29:50He is the one that has the plan at the end of your life because we all are going to die. And it's where you're going. I think a lot of folks think well you're just getting into heaven just because you were good here and you played sports and you did this. No, that's not the way it works. You better read the Bible. It's been here forever. You know when John 3 when he tells Nicodemian the less one is born again he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. And he's talking about a whole different thing there compared to what we think of it here. And I think we've been brainwashed more here from a earthly standpoint. Let's take it. Pick up the Bible for ourselves and read it so we can get the revelation of it and then we'll know that we can have another life. Amen. I love that. Here's what I'm going to do. Mr. Strawberry because I owe you that respect now. I want to buy 50 copies of the book. And the first people that message me another life.

30:52So whether it's LinkedIn and Instagram whatever it is message me another life. And I'm going to send you a copy of this book because it's amazing. It's almost like for me it helped me on my journey to forgiveness and to understand me much better. And like I said earlier I know that that's not why the book was written or how was written. But I get out of it and I go to this book like twice a week. And so I want everyone to get this book. So I'm going to give it to the first 50 that message me if you're number 51 you got to go buy it. But you can get it on Amazon Barnes and Noble's your local bookstore whatever. But this book is so important. We all know about Darryl Strawberry's illustrious career. You're going to get to know the person is passion and more about the journey of love, compassion and forgiveness. So thank you brother.

31:52So thank you so much for your support. Much love and respect. I appreciate that. And you know my my message is just clear for folks is just to bring hope at the end of the day. You're not too far off where God cannot meet you and transform you rescue redeem and restore you and they need to know that. Yes sir. Yes sir. All right I'm going to get you out of here with this rapid fire quick five. You ready? Yes. Unpluged five. All right better memories met or Yankees. Matt. There we go. This is from the best leader I know one of my football coaches and school principal Danny Merck. The toughest braves picture you faced. It land on us. Greg Maddox. There we go. What's one word that Miss Tracy would use to describe you?

32:57Goofy. I love it. What's your favorite meal? Put together your favorite meal. What's on the plate? Oxtails, yams and collagreens. Yes sir. Yes sir. Yes sir. Last question. The legacy of Darrell Strawberry. Give it to me in one sentence. The legacy of Darrell Strawberry is to leave that Jesus is Lord for my children. Not being a great baseball player, but being a man of faith, and being a man that lives the principles the right way. There we go. I love it. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been my goat, my hero, the greatest of all times, Mr. Darrell Strawberry. You too much brother. I appreciate you. Thanks for your patience and thanks for our hook and a sub.

33:59Absolutely. And to all the viewers and listeners, remember your becaus is your superpower. Go Unleash it.