NEW YORK – Former baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry, whose achievements on the field often were overshadowed by his struggles with cancer and substance abuse, is writing a memoir, “Straw,” that will come out in 2009, publisher Ecco announced Wednesday.

According to Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, Strawberry’s book “details his life growing up in Crenshaw, Los Angeles, his rise to baseball superstardom as a Met, Dodger and Yankee, the high life and low life, his brushes with the law, his triumphant battle over cancer, his religious awakening and his marriage to the love of his life.”

John Strausbaugh, who helped write a book by John Leguizamo, will collaborate with Strawberry on his memoir.

Strawberry, 46, was an eight-time All-Star who hit 335 home runs in 17 seasons and played on World Series championship teams with both the New York Mets and New York Yankees. But he also had a long history of personal problems.

He recently agreed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $430,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest.

In March, the Mets announced they had hired Strawberry as a special instructor and a traveling ambassador, visiting minor league teams.