RetroSimba

Early in spring training in 1989, Mets teammates Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry provided a snapshot of the season ahead and it wasn’t pretty.

On March 2, 1989, Hernandez and Strawberry got into a scuffle while the Mets gathered for a team photo at training camp in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Hernandez, the former Cardinal, and Strawberry were two of the Mets’ most prominent players and their fight was visible evidence all was not right with team chemistry.

“It is not without reason the Mets have a psychiatrist on the premises,” New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica observed.

Sticks and stones

In a four-year stretch from 1985-88, the Cardinals and Mets ruled the National League East. The Cardinals won the division title in 1985 and 1987; the Mets did it in 1986 and 1988. Hernandez, the smooth-fielding first baseman acquired from the Cardinals in 1983, and Strawberry, the slugging right fielder, were instrumental in the Mets’ success.

When Strawberry showed up at training camp in 1989, he informed the Mets he wanted to renegotiate a contract which had two years remaining. “I feel I’m not being appreciated for what I’ve done,” Strawberry said to the New York Times.

Mets management was uninterested in reworking the agreement and Hernandez sided with the front office, telling a newspaper Strawberry was “getting bad advice” and “a deal’s a deal.”

At the photo session on a Thursday morning before workouts began, Strawberry said to Hernandez, “Why did you say those things about me?’

Hernandez replied, “I’m tired of your baby stuff.”

Strawberry said, “I’ve been tired of you for years,” and took a swing at Hernandez.

The backhand punch grazed Hernandez on the cheek, according to the Daily News.

Pitchers Dwight Gooden and Bob Ojeda restrained Strawberry, and pitcher Randy Myers grabbed Hernandez and lifted him off the ground to keep him from going after Strawberry, the Daily News reported. Video

“Another day in fantasy land,” said Mets pitcher Ron Darling. “Like Barnum and Bailey and the great traveling show.”

The photo session continued, with Gary Carter and Howard Johnson sitting between Hernandez and Strawberry, the SunSentinel of Fort Lauderdale reported. Strawberry and Hernandez took batting practice on separate fields. Later, they met together with team psychiatrist Dr. Alan Lans and shook hands, the New York Times reported.

“Do not believe anything was resolved beyond a truce,” Lupica wrote in the Daily News. “The two men still do not like each other.”

With management refusing to budge on his demand for a new contract, Strawberry capped the day by skipping an intrasquad game and walking out of camp, saying he wouldn’t return unless the Mets agreed to renegotiate.

“Someday, a Met will go on the disabled list with hurt feelings,” Lupica predicted.

Strawberry smooch

The next day, March 3, Strawberry didn’t show at training camp and was fined by the club.

With the Mets playing the Dodgers in an exhibition game at Port St. Lucie on March 4, the soap opera took a twist when Strawberry returned with a grand entrance.

As a public address announcer called their names in pre-game introductions, Mets players emerged one by one from the dugout and formed a line on the field. After Hernandez came out, Strawberry’s name was called and the prodigal player appeared to a chorus of boos from the home crowd. Strawberry acknowledged the fans by gesturing for more boos, the Daily News reported.

As Strawberry lined up next to Hernandez, they hugged and Strawberry kissed him on the right cheek.

“It took all of three seconds for Darryl Strawberry to offer Keith Hernandez the ultimate olive branch,” the Daily News reported.

Strawberry, claiming the kiss was spontaneous, declared the fight “should have never happened” and said, “We’re friends now.”

“Me and Keith have had a special relationship and I don’t want it to be destroyed by what happened in the past,” Strawberry said.

Hernandez told Gannett News Service, “It should be water under the bridge. We’ll just go forward from here. We’re here to play ball.”

Sad season

Both Hernandez and Strawberry had subpar seasons for the 1989 Mets and their performances were factors in why the team failed to reach the postseason.

Hernandez hit .233 with a paltry 19 RBI. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Indians.

Strawberry hit .225 with 29 home runs. He played another year for the Mets, fulfilling the contract, became a free agent and joined the Dodgers in 1991.

The 1989 Mets finished at 87-75, six games behind the first-place Cubs and a game ahead of the third-place Cardinals.