TAMPA, Fla. -- Darryl Strawberry checked out of a hospital psychiatric ward Monday and was on his way to a drug treatment center that a judge says will be his home for the next two years.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's records show that Strawberry was released shortly after 4 p.m. to be transferred to Phoenix House, a residential treatment center about 16 miles northeast of Ocala.

On Thursday, Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Florence Foster sentenced Strawberry to drug treatment instead of prison. Strawberry had been on house arrest and electronic monitoring at a Tampa drug center when he left for a four-day drug binge March 29.

Strawberry, 39, surfaced four days later and checked himself into the psychiatric ward at St. Joseph's Hospital. Doctors there said the former New York Yankees slugger was suicidal and possibly suffers from a bipolar disorder that had not been detected.

After undergoing treatment with a series of medications, Strawberry told Foster he was committed to beating his drug habit and asked to be sent to Phoenix House. The treatment center mostly handles drug offenders in Florida's criminal justice system, although it has no bars, locks or fences.

Under the terms of his sentencing, Strawberry can ask Foster after a year to return home if he is progressing well in his treatment. He would then be monitored under regular drug offender probation, which among its conditions includes surprise drug tests.

Strawberry, who is also undergoing treatment for colon cancer, has five times violated the terms of his release for a 1999 drug possession and solicitation of prostitution conviction.