In late March, Darryl Strawberry stood before a packed Sunday congregation in Baton Rouge and delivered a sermon on purpose - one stop of dozens on a calendar that now keeps him traveling more than half of every year. The man who once owned New York's back pages has become one of the country's most tireless voices for recovery and restoration.
The engine behind that work is Strawberry Ministries, which Darryl founded with his wife Tracy in 2011. Together they built a body of practical, step-by-step resources aimed at helping people rebuild their lives, and in 2014 they co-founded a recovery center in Orlando, Florida that continues that mission every day.
Strawberry's own story gives the message its weight. He speaks openly about the seasons he lost and the grace that brought him back, and audiences respond to a candor that few figures of his stature ever offer.
He has also put the playbook on paper. His memoir, a New York Times bestseller, and his more recent book 'Turn Your Season Around' distill the same message he carries from arenas to church pulpits: no season is beyond saving.
Eight All-Star Games, four World Series rings, and by his own account none of it compares to the work he does now.