Major League Baseball legends Darryl Strawberry and Willie Aikens joined Prison Fellowship this summer at Boonville Correctional Center and Tipton Correctional Center to share their stories of personal transformation and minister to facility residents.
While achieving remarkable success as professional athletes, both Strawberry and Aikens struggled with addiction and spent time in prison before dedicating themselves to helping people through their faith.
Starting in 1983, Strawberry played for the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees, racking up four World Series championships and multiple records, awards and accolades, as well as widespread popularity among fans.
Strawberry's highly publicized drug use and legal battles, along with health problems, ended his baseball career. He connects his challenges to abuse and trauma he experienced throughout childhood.
"My pain led me to my greatness," he told the offenders gathered in the BCC chapel, "but my greatness would eventually lead to my destructive behavior."
Now an ordained pastor, Strawberry has run Strawberry Ministries with his wife, Tracy Strawberry, since 2011. He has visited more than 240 prisons throughout the country, but last month marked the St. Louis resident's first visit to a Missouri state prison.
Aikens played for the California Angels, the Toronto Blue Jays and, notably, the Kansas City Royals, for whom he hit a record-setting two home runs during one game in the 1980 World Series.
Following a series of drug arrests, Aikens spent 14 years in federal prison in Georgia. After release, he went back to work with the Royals, first as hitting instructor and now as a special assistant to baseball operations.
During their BCC and TCC visits, Strawberry and Aikens made personal connections with event attendees.
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