In another life, Darryl Strawberry wishes he could have been Tim Tebow.
Strawberry, whose potential Hall of Fame career was derailed by multiple addictions to drugs and alcohol, told USA Today Sports he feels he would have arrived at his preordained destiny if he could have been more like the 25-year-old born-again Christian.
"I wish I could have been like a Gary Carter or a Tim Tebow when I was playing,'' the twice-divorced baseball legend told USA Today. “When Carter left here, he left here as a right man, a righteous man, who lived his life the right way,” Strawberry said of his teammate on the New York Mets 1986 championship team. Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher, died in 2012 of brain cancer.
Now an ordained minister, primarily focusing on those inflicted with addiction, Strawberry views the straight-and-narrow path carved by NFL star Tebow as a testament to both his strength and character.
“I look at Tebow… he gets bashed because of his faith,” said Strawberry. “Let 'em laugh. Let 'em talk. He's a greater man than anyone who might be greater than him as an athlete. He's a real man.”
Strawberry seems convinced that Tebow’s unwavering nature and commitment to his faith is what separates him from most others.
"He gets challenged about his faith all of the time, but he never wavers because of opinions, or what the media is writing about him,” he said. His reward later on in life is going to be even greater because he stood in the midst of everybody criticizing him being a Christian and playing sports at the same time. I admire him more than he could ever imagine.''
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