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NEW YORK — Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden thought back to what might have been, how their starry accomplishments would have been so much greater had they not succumbed to the drugs and alcohol that shattered their careers.

On the day the New York Mets announced they will retire Gooden’s No. 16 on April 14 and Strawberry’s No. 18 on June 1, the pair held a Zoom news conference and candidly discussed their failures to resist the fame and fortune that followed the swashbuckling Mets’ 1986 World Series title, leading to prison and a string of suspensions that perhaps cost them entry to baseball’s Hall of Fame.

“We were mentally crazy at the time, so we needed a lot help,” Strawberry said Wednesday. “We could have used every doctor and every psychiatrist — they probably would have ran away from us every time because we were so young and so focused on what it was like to be on the field and doing what we was doing on the field and we was not taking care of ourselves.”

Strawberry, 61, was an eight-time All-Star, including seven during his time with the Mets from 1983-90. He hit .259 with 335 homers, 1,000 RBIs and 221 stolen bases in 17 seasons.

“My heart and soul bleed blue and orange,” Strawberry said of the Mets colors. “Always have. Always will.”

He recommended star first baseman Pete Alonso, who can become a free agent next fall, not depart like Strawberry did when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 1991 season.

“I just hope Pete doesn’t leave because I ended up personally with a bellyful of regrets for leaving because there is nothing like playing in New York. There is nothing like the atmosphere. There is nothing like the fans. There is nothing like being booed and fans letting you know when you suck,” Strawberry said.

Gooden, 59, was a four-time All-Star while playing for the Mets from 1984-94, winning the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award. He went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts in 16 seasons.

“I remember at times literally crying, going to get drugs, crying to go buy alcohol. That’s a problem. That’s a mental problem,” Gooden said, recalling his last descent in 2019. “Last time, instead of going to rehab, I put myself into a mental hospital.”

Gooden was 157-85 with a 3.10 ERA with 1,875 strikeouts for the Mets, and Strawberry hit hit .263 with 252 homers, 733 RBIs and 191 steals for New York.

“I was never well. Had I been well, what could I have done?” Strawberry said. “When I was young, I thought this was going to go on forever, I’m going to be hitting home runs forever.”

Gooden recounted being rebuffed by Mets general Steve Phillips when he hoped to return for the 1998 and 2000 seasons.

“Their fans will always be special to me. They cared about me and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and gave me hope to go on,” Gooden said. “That’s something that you don’t forget.”

Strawberry contrasted his background with that of Yankees captain Derek Jeter, his teammate from 1995-99.

“You look at a lot of guys that played in New York that was young, like Jete, but he had a great family and I admire that because that helped him get through life better with the expectations and the pressures of playing. When you don’t have anybody, it’s very challenging for you to make the right decisions.”

Mets players were celebrated in the bars and nightclubs of 1980s New York.

“Did we get safeguarded when we were planning in New York at a young age? Probably not. I don’t think so. Everything was wide open,” Strawberry said. “Twenty-one years old, running into Manhattan, I don’t think that was a good idea. I don’t think that was a good lifestyle for me. I got kind of corrupted in that lifestyle and I kick myself for that.”

“I could have stayed on track and followed what Gary Carter and Mookie Wilson was living,” he added, “I probably would’ve ended up one heck of a ballplayer in Queens for the rest of my career.”

New York previously retired No. 14 (Gil Hodges, 1973), No. 17 (Keith Hernandez, 2022), No. 24 (Willie Mays, 2022), No. 31 (Mike Piazza, 2016), No. 36 (Jerry Koosman, 2021), No. 37 (Casey Stengel, 1965), No. 41 (Tom Seaver, 1988). In addition, Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball in 1997.

At times, the troubles of Strawberry and Gooden led to a strained relationship and criticism of each other.

“You’re talking about two young Black, African Americans playing in New York, stars, and everything handed to you. You go to Manhattan, you get everything handed to you. You get free clothes, You get free this — how do you suppose to respond to that when you’re young?” Strawberry said. “The animosity wasn’t about not loving and caring for Doc. I always have. He’s always been a knucklehead, and I’ve always been a knucklehead. He knows that. We both know that for each other.”

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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