BEFORE THE STEROIDS scandal enveloped baseball and gave fans scores of new anti-heroes, former Mets and Yankees teammates Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden were two of the national pastime's poster boys for drug and alcohol abuse in the '80s.

But while Gooden is in a Florida prison for a probation violation, Strawberry is trying to steer others away from the "temptations" that often derailed him.

Yesterday, Strawberry visited Valhalla High School in Westchester to talk about substance abuse. And the 44-year-old Strawberry said he pulled no punches when it came to speaking from experience.

"Oh, no question, it's my own personal experience to share with the kids," Strawberry told the Daily News in a telephone interview. "I use my experience from my childhood - my dad being an alcoholic, how I was scarred early. I started at 14 years old, drinking and smoking marijuana. It was a domino effect in my life. Addiction took me to prison.

"You've got to make them understand the seriousness of the choices that are made. I try to prepare these kids at this age now because of the way society is - the choices, the temptations. We're losing our kids to the world."

Strawberry was not paid for yesterday's appearance and said it was a favor to longtime friend
Brandon Steiner, a sports marketing executive. He said he spends most of his time doing "missionary work, work for the Lord, the lost and the homeless," mostly in his native California.

Today, Strawberry is expected to appear at several Long Island high schools to spread what he hopes are messages of "hope and inspiration."