In his 17-year baseball career, Darryl Strawberry was never classified as a quitter. After a long battle with a drug addiction, he didn’t throw in the towel. Even being diagnosed with colon cancer in 1998 didn’t stop him.
But the baseball star finally met his match – Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. On the third week of the show, Strawberry’s team (RockSolid) lost the task and one of the men had to be fired. In an attempt to save his teammates, Strawberry told Mr. Trump that he wanted to be fired even though he wasn’t the one who messed up the task. In the end, Trump had no choice but to fire Strawberry and keep Project Manager Michael Johnson for at least another week.
In a Monday interview, Strawberry discussed his reasons behind wanting to leave the show and dished on the remaining celebrities left in the game.
It seemed like Strawberry just wasn’t prepared for the workload that comes with being an Apprentice contestant, but he told me he never thought it’d be just fun and games.
“I expected it to be difficult,” Strawberry said. “I expected it to be a challenge. I expected it to be what Mr. Trump said when we all sat in front of him (on the first day). He said, ‘You guys like each other right now but when the show starts, you’re not going to like each other too much.’ So I believed that was going to take place and it did take place.”
When I asked Strawberry which of the three Project Managers he worked under (Bret Michaels, Sinbad or Michael Johnson) was the strongest leader, he settled on Johnson.
“I would have to say Michael was at the time. Sinbad has the personality of fun and joking and keeping everybody loose with humor. I think (Michael) focused real hard on what the project should be about. And he tried to really put it together as well as he could and keep everybody involved.”
After taking the bullet for the men’s team, it’s no wonder Strawberry said his loyalty remains with RockSolid. Although he admitted the women’s team (Tenacity) has very strong members, he said he ultimately wants a man to win the show.
“No question. I mean I was never a part of the girl’s team. If I would have been on their team, it’d have been a different story. But I was not on their team and it was the guys against the girls, so of course I want one of the guys to win.”
Although Trump said he was disappointed in Strawberry for quitting the show before making any money for his charity (The Darryl Strawberry Foundation which helps children with autism), Strawberry said he doesn’t see it as quitting.
“I just hit a point where I was totally exhausted. I was running around and I just had nothing left in the tank. It wasn’t anything personal. It wasn’t about quitting. It wasn’t about giving up because I never quit, never give up.”
After a long year which included a book tour for his memoir “Straw: Finding My Way,” Strawberry said the grueling schedule of The Apprentice quickly took its toll.
“It’s a wakeup call every morning at 5:30, 6:00 you got to be up and on your feet and ready to start moving and putting things into motion. I didn’t want to get stressed out and start coming off the wrong way. That’s when I realized, it’s more important for me to continue to show class and step up and do what I thought was the right thing to move forward and step out.”
Out of the celebrities he met while on the show, Strawberry said Rod Blagojevich was one of the most interesting. He said the former Illinois governor originally came across as arrogant, but he soon changed his opinion.
“The Governor, who knows what to say about him? I tried to explain to him this is not a show about telling everybody you’re innocent or not. And I said you’re making yourself look crazy on TV, which is happening because everybody’s questioning and asking about it. But deep down inside he’s a very nice guy. I give him a lot of credit for being able to come on the show like this.”
In the interview, Strawberry revealed the even though he didn’t make any money on the show, Trump donated $25,000 to The Darryl Strawberry Foundation after Strawberry returned to the show to help the final two candidates complete their final task. Although that won’t be aired until the finale, Strawberry said Trump was eventually understanding of his decision to quit.
“Like I said before, I don’t know if most of the people that were there understand my schedule was grueling. It wasn’t anything personal. I just hit a wall. And I think Mr. Trump was shocked, because I am a New Yorker and he’s a New Yorker and he definitely liked me and everything. And I respect him for that and I’m grateful for that. But it’s grueling and it’s a lot on your feet and it’s a lot that you have to do with it. I just didn’t have the energy anymore.”
