Darryl,
come on. You only get three chances in baseball. The highly-touted
New York Yankee ballplayer, Darryl Strawberry (born March 12,
1962, in Los Angeles), hung up his cleats for the season under
suspension following testing positive for cocaine use—again. Too
bad, because the Yankees had big plans for Darryl’s quick swing
and strong bat as designated hitter. While his fate remains
undetermined as far as baseball is concerned, the stars shine with
more certainty.
Pisces
to the Gills
What
goes on inside the head of someone throwing away a fantastic job
and lifestyle? Strawberry’s Sun is in Pisces. Pisces, symbolized
by two fish swimming in opposite directions in the stream, bears
the dubious distinction of possessing a higher than average
vulnerability for drug and alcohol abuse. One fish struggles
upstream, seeking the high road, while the other follows the path
of least resistance. Unconscious coping urges prevail. Sometimes
those urges go against the grain of success, and life goes down
the tubes.
On
the high side, Pisces represents extreme spiritual awareness. On
the other side, escapism provides Pisces the easiest way of
dealing with the necessities of life. The professional sports
pressures of performance, demands of the fans and unending
exposure to and availability of drugs is more than many psyches
can endure.
Add
the Gemini Moon
On
top of that, take the high-powered emotional and psychic
sensitivity of Pisces, and add to it the nature of a Gemini Moon,
as in Strawberry’s chart. The Moon, the source of feelings and
reactions, in the sign of the twins, attempts to filter everything
through a mental funnel. So a short-circuiting of reactions
overwhelms this ballplayer. Escapism offers what appears to be the
easiest way out, without any thoughts about the consequences.
Plutonic
Influence
The
planet of the underworld, Pluto, is within range of making long,
difficult visits to Strawberry’s Sun and Moon (a square and
opposition, respectively). Pluto
pitches contain the shadow, dark secrets of the psyche and the
symbolic underworld. You step to the plate, knowing blazing
fastballs head your way, no slack. During Pluto’s passage, one
submits to the absolute truth of the inner nature. Peace can then
occur within all aspects of the psyche. The spirit reemerges
victorious, but it’s a long, extra-inning contest. Strawberry is
no exception, despite celebrity status, and the weight of these
visits from Pluto could compel him to seek escape more fervently
than before.
A
Society Favoring the Underdog
The
sign of Pisces refers to the underdog. How is it that fans in New
York end up rooting for a man with cocaine, alcohol, spousal
abuse, child support and prostitution problems? Sure, he can swing
a bat, but not like the old days. Darryl’s swing used to send
the horsehide out of the park thirty times or more in a year—a
prodigious feat. Those heroic efforts faded as his cocaine
incidents began. Team after team gave him another chance. Maybe
he’ll redeem himself. Maybe he won’t. It doesn’t matter,
because fantasy projections still hold him as a hero.
Darryl’s
horoscope contains a strong collection of Aquarian planets
supplementing his Piscean mixture. Aquarius thrives on the
sensation of being misunderstood. They persist in aggravating
activities that generate the alienating reactions. Aquarius is a
fixed sign, meaning it has dogged dedication to an attitude,
lifestyle or characterization, whether good, bad or indifferent.
Knowing better is irrelevant. That’s how fixed signs are. This
adds to his underdog status and his seeming inability to toe the
line.
Punitive
Pitches
Saturn
is moving through Taurus, making a hard angle to the Aquarius
planets in Strawberry’s chart. The strong Saturn demands
accountability and following the law of cause and effect.
Questions arise. Was Strawberry’s suspension warranted? “Are
you kidding?” asks Saturn. “An ordinary Joe would have been in
serious trouble the first time around. Strawberry is long
overdue. Then there’s child support. For someone making that
kind of money? Spousal abuse? Not allowed in this game.”
Baseball
continues to demonstrate inconsistency in its punitive polices.
With Pluto currently moving through Sagittarius, astrologers
predict a reformation in professional sports. The theme suggests
that all sport corruptions, illegal activities and bending of
rules must come to a complete and abrupt halt.
Darryl
will appeal. Will he win? He might, but later in the year as both
Jupiter and Saturn enter the grasp of the justifying world of
Gemini. Striving to see both sides of the situation, expect
baseball to yield again, especially if the Yankees get in the
pennant race.
Redemption
What
can Strawberry do to become fruitful once again? Saying “I’m
sorry” falls short of the requirements of Saturn and Pluto. He
will have to cope with extreme pressure and performance anxiety
and rise above it, showing healthy ways to deal with such
stresses. He may have to quit baseball, find a recovery program
and stick with it with more discipline than running mandatory
spring training wind sprints. To redeem himself, he must rise
above the addictive seduction of cocaine, fame and hero worship.
And he must do this for himself, not the fans.
Like
a professional ballplayer, we all experience the pressure to
perform in our lives. We can relate. Baseball remains a game to
feed the spirit of the country and to reinvigorate our sense of
modern mythological heroes. Let us honor the heroes who heal and
inspire. Come on, Darryl, one more time at bat.