'You are a miracle': Strawberry released from hospital four days after heart attack

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Four days after suffering a massive heart attack, Mets living legend Darryl Strawberry said he 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. “I have a monitor that I have to wear right now so the doctors can keep up with me.”

Strawberry suffered the heart attack Monday evening that required him to spend his 62nd birthday in a hospital bed -- but he received prompt treatment and was released Wednesday evening. According to Strawberry, the doctors believe his heart problems occurred five days earlier. His heart rate was at 40 percent when he entered St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis in Missouri.

Strawberry said he is alive today because his wife, Tracy, insisted that he needed to go to the emergency room after suffering chest pains on Monday. After he arrived at the hospital, the medical staff used a stent to restore his heart to regular function. Strawberry was released from the hospital Wednesday evening.

“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.”

This is not the first time Strawberry has had health issues. He had colon cancer in 1998 while playing with the Yankees. Two years later, he had his left kidney removed during cancer surgery. Now he is dealing with heart issues.

“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.’”

Once he is 100 percent healthy, Strawberry will continue his work as a traveling minister and visit troubled individuals in the prison system.

“My work now is so much more significant to me of what I’m doing to help others than anything I accomplished on the ballfield,” he said.

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Getting back to his prison visits is not the only thing Strawberry will be doing when he is back in action. On June 1, the Mets will retire Strawberry's No. 18 in the Citi Field rafters. He will be the 10th player to have his number retired at Citi Field, joining 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 is one of the best players in the team’s history. He came to the Big Apple with a lot of hype. The No. 1 overall pick in the 1980 Draft, he was labeled the “Black Ted Williams.” Strawberry would spend eight years with the Mets, helping them win two division titles, one pennant and one World Series title, and finishing his career with seven All-Star nods. He remains the franchise leader with 252 career home runs. Strawberry left the Mets after the 1990 season, signing with the Dodgers as a free agent.

“I’m excited about having my number retired because that is such a great honor from the new ownership -- Steve and Alex Cohen -- to select me," Strawberry said. "I can just imagine what that’s going to be like."

Strawberry can’t wait to see the people who called him while he was in the hospital. He heard from childhood friend, former Major Leaguer Eric Davis. Former teammates such as Hernandez, Derek Jeter, Kevin Mitchell and Cecil Fielder have checked in. In fact, according to Strawberry, Hernandez told him that his day at Citi Field will be incredible.

“All these guys reached out to me with love and concern,” Strawberry said. “It shows what we are as a baseball family. I think it’s going to be very special for me more than I could ever imagine because of what has happened in the last week of my life.”