PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Decked out in a Mets uniform for the first time in 15 years, a smiling Darryl Strawberry strolled into the dugout and flexed his left biceps. “Don’t I look great?” he said, laughing. And with that, the greatest hitter in team history was welcomed back to the Mets, where his roller-coaster of a career began with such promise. Strawberry arrived at spring training yesterday to serve as a guest instructor for a few days, working mostly with major and minor league outfielders. Trim and fit just five days shy of his 43rd birthday, he looked as if he could still turn on an inside fastball and send it soaring off the right-field scoreboard at Shea Stadium. But Strawberry said he isn’t looking to jump in the batting cage and start taking swings anytime soon. He’s content to be retired – and thankful to be alive.

“It’s not about me, it’s about who I can help,” he said. “It’s these guys’ time, it’s not my time. My time is over.”

What a time it was, though. Drafted no. 1 overall in 1980 out of Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, Strawberry rocketed to the major leagues and was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1983. Blessed with awesome power, graceful speed, and a beautiful swing, he was soon compared to Hall of Famers such as Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, and Mickey Mantle.

Those kinds of expectations are tough to live up to, especially in New York, but he might have had a chance to do it had his career not been derailed by drugs, alcohol, and a string of arrests for everything from tax evasion to allegations of beating his wife.

Still, he made eight All-Star teams, finished runner-up for the 1988 NL MVP Award, and is still the Mets’ career leader in home runs (252), RBI, (733), and runs scored (662).

Suspended from the majors three times for cocaine-related problems, he resurfaced with the Yankees and played on three championship teams from 1996-99, hitting 24 homers in only 295 at-bats in 1998. He survived painful operations for colon cancer, winning new fans with his inspirational comeback. But he also disappeared for four days from a drug treatment center, then turned up again after friends feared he was dead.

Mostly, Strawberry’s story is a cautionary tale of what might have been, and now he wants to share what he’s learned with young players.

Wearing his familiar no. 18 beneath a blue windbreaker, Strawberry shagged flies on a practice field and signed autographs. He chatted with Mets slugger Cliff Floyd and served as a cutoff man during drills.

“It’s a start,” Mets General Manager Omar Minaya said. “With a lot of new stuff going on, it’s always good to remember the past.”