FLUSHING, NY - Thomas Wolfe once wrote, "You can’t go home again."

But for Darryl Strawberry and his teammates from the 1986 championship team, the author is incorrect.

You can go home again.

The former outfielder returned to Shea Stadium today and greeted fans while they waited in line for the first day of ticket sales.

"When I came back to this ballpark, I get a good feeling inside of me," Strawberry told reporters outside. "I am reminded of all the success I had [at Shea]."

Strawberry’s best years were as a Met and his 252 home runs, 733 RBI and 622 runs scored are still club records. After he left the organization, his career –and subsequent post-baseball life- was marred with repeated cocaine offenses, domestic violence charges and an eventual jail term.

All of those problems seem to be behind him now and, at age 42, the former phenom has returned to the organization as an instructor.

"He belongs back here with us; he’s a Met guy," said former teammate and current minor league coach, Howard Johnson. "I know he’s excited to be at camp next week and guys have been asking about Darryl down there."

Strawberry will be there, in Port St. Lucie, to assist one of the more exciting Mets squads in recent years. With new manager Willie Randolph leading free agent signings, Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran into battle, Strawberry shared the optimism of the crowd.

"They’re a young team and we’ve got a good manager -and good person- in Willie Randolph," Strawberry said. "I’ve had the opportunity to be around Randolph for a few years when I was with the Yankees. And, now, he’s going to bring the winning tradition back."

He added that the successful revival starts on the mound.

"Pedro Martinez is the main attraction," Strawberry said. "Pitching is always the core of the team. If you can get the pitching staff established, like we did in the 80s, the offense will feed into that."

As an instructor, the former slugger can offer advice on drugs and addiction. With the release of Jose Canseco’s book and Jason Giambi’s testimony, Strawberry spoke of baseball’s new-wave drug -steroids.

"Steroids is not just affecting the players who took them. It’s affecting the younger kids as well," he underscored. "The younger kids need to know that they don’t have to juice up to be successful."

Gary Carter, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Tim Teufel and Johnson joined their former teammate today and were all very glad to see Strawberry back as a Met.

"This is Darryl’s home when you think of it," Carter said. "I am happy that the organization is bringing back the players of the past. The teams we had in the mid-to-late 80s were very special."

"He was a great, great player here. I can tell by the way the fans reacted; they were happy to see him," Darling added. "It’s going to be great for the 2005 Mets to see him in uniform."

Strawberry is indeed home again.

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