Darryl Strawberry knows what Tiger Woods is experiencing. He’s been down that road: A high-profile, highly-successful athlete whose vulnerabilities have led to destructive behavior.
And the former New York Mets legend does not like what he is seeing.
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“I’m looking at a person that is deeply hurting inside and if he continues to go down the road it’s going to kill him, if he doesn’t surrender his life to God,” Strawberry said. “And he’s going to keep going back into that dark hole to try to fill that empty void.
“Just like me, hurting and got addicted and the addiction took over. It’s a serious addiction problem. Not one to play with anymore. He’s nearly lost his life two times.”
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Strawberry, an eight-time Major League Baseball All-Star, overcame drug and alcohol addiction more than 20 years ago. An evangelical born-again Christian, Strawberry, 64, makes about 270 trips a year to speak about addiction and drug abuse and talk about how once it grips you, it’s hard to get it to let go.
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Strawberry said he is not doing this for publicity or trying to be a part of Woods’ inner circle.
“My heart, it’s just, it’s yearning for Tiger,” Strawberry, a three-time World Series winner, said in a phone interview with The Palm Beach Post.
Tiger Woods rollover crash on Jupiter Island on March 27, 2026. The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. in the 200 block of Beach Road.
“I don’t even know him. I’m doing this because God called me up before I preached last Sunday to intercede and pray for Tiger Woods. And I just did exactly what he wanted me to do.”
Woods, 50, was arrested March 27 after a two-vehicle crash in Jupiter Island and is facing charges of DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. He passed a breath test but refused to submit to a urinalysis.
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A search of Woods’ pocket found two pills revealed to be hydrocodone, a strong opioid painkiller.
The wreck was the second time since 2021 that Woods has been in a crash in which his vehicle rolled over and the second time since 2017 he has been arrested on DUI charges.
Darryl Strawberry says if Tiger Woods continues to go down this road ‘it’s going to kill him’
A vehicle carrying Tiger Woods leaves the Martin County Jail after he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after a car crash on March 27, 2026 in Stuart, Florida.
Woods announced March 31 he is “stepping away” from golf to seek treatment and focus on his health.
“A lot of times people don’t know what addiction is really like, and how powerful it is,” Strawberry said. “It’s very controlling and what it has done to him. The enemy is trying to kill him. He tried to kill me.
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“It killed Elvis, it killed Prince, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson. Once you continue to go down those roads, you think to yourself that it’s not going to really effect me like it did them. Yes, it is.”
Strawberry believes Woods needs much more than treatment.
“It’s not just about going to treatment,” he said. “It’s that he gives his life to God so he can be free from whatever it is. Because you can have all the money, all the success, all that don’t matter. It don’t make you happy. It’s something different when you get addicted to pills and drugs and stuff like that. It’s some different hurting inside of you that’s making you do that.
New York Mets former player Darryl Strawberry speaks during a pregame ceremony to retire his number 18 before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit:
“You can’t just turn it off. You got to have a spiritual awakening on the inside to deliver you from it. And he’s no different than anybody else when it comes to addiction. You can go to every facility, you can go to every program. I went to all the best, Betty Ford, Hanley, Hazelden, but it wasn’t until something different spiritually happened inside of my life to break that bondage off of me.”
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Strawberry was asked if he were to speak to Woods what would he say.
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“I would tell him to really truly consider the most important thing in his life is really surrendering his life to God,” he said. “That’s a game changer. It’s been a game changer in my life for over 20-something years now. The way I live and who I am and what I do.”
Strawberry understands the people around Woods, his family, friends, team truly want the best for him. But because he is Tiger Woods, they do not know what to say.
Just like, he said, people did not know what to say to him because he was Darryl Strawberry.
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“He is Tiger Woods and he has been so successful,” Strawberry said. “But he’s a human being, too. And he’s got shortcomings, just like all the rest of us. And … he has to play it out in the public eye, just like I did.
“He’s had several accidents where he could’ve killed himself. It’s very sad because he’s an American hero and for him to be where he’s at, and whatever’s really hurting.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Darryl Strawberry says God called him to intercede, help Tiger Woods
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