Washington – President Donald Trump has pardoned former New York Mets The great Darryl Strawberry, who was named 1983 National League Rookie of the Year after a career of tax evasion and drug charges, cited his embrace of Christianity and long-term sobriety.
Strawberry was an outfielder and eight-time All-Star, including seven times with the Mets from 1983 to 1990. He hit 335 homers and had 1,000 RBI and 221 stolen bases in 17 seasons.
Later plagued by legal, health and personal problems, Strawberry was accused of tax evasion and eventually pleaded guilty to the same felony in 1995. This was based on his failure to report $350,000 in income from the sale of autographs, personal appearances and memorabilia.
Strawberry agreed to pay more than $430,000 as part of the case.
He was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy in 1998.
The following year, Strawberry was sentenced to probation and suspended from baseball after pleading no contest to charges of cocaine possession and soliciting a prostitute. He eventually spoke out in court about battling depression, and was charged with violating his probation several times – including on his 40th birthday in 2002.
Strawberry eventually served an 11-month sentence in Florida State Prison and was released in 2003.
A White House official said Friday that Trump had approved a pardon for Strawberry, who had served time and paid taxes. Speaking in detail about the background of the pardon, which had not yet been formally announced, the official said Strawberry believed in Christianity and had been sober for more than a decade and had become active in ministry and started a still-active recovery center.
Strawberry posted a photo of herself and Trump on Instagram and wrote, “President @realdonaldtrump thank you for completely forgiving me and finalizing this part of my life, allowing me to be truly free and clean from all of my past.”
He described being at home Thursday afternoon and caring for his wife, who was recovering from surgery, “when my phone kept ringing.”
“Half-asleep, I glanced over and saw a call from Washington, D.C.. Curious, I answered, and to my surprise, the woman on the line said, ‘Darryl Strawberry, you have a call from the President of the United States, Donald Trump,'” Strawberry wrote. “I put it on speakerphone with my wife, and President Trump talked warmly about my baseball days in NYC, praised me as one of the greatest players of the ’80s, and celebrated the Mets. Then, he told me he was granting me a full pardon from my past.”
Before becoming a reality television star and winning the presidency twice, Trump was a New York real estate mogul.
Strawberry said he was “overwhelmed with gratitude – thank God for freeing me from my past, for helping me become a better man, husband and father.”
Strawberry wrote, “This experience has deepened my faith and commitment to working for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as a true follower.” He also wrote, “This has nothing to do with politics – it’s about a man, President Trump, who cares deeply for a friend. God used him as a vessel to set me free forever!”
Strawberry’s pardon follows Trump this week issuing a pardon to the former Republican speaker of the Tennessee House and a onetime aide on public corruption charges. It adds to the list of celebrities and political associates who have received equally unexpected pardons — including a former Republican governor of Connecticut, an ex-GOP member of Congress and reality TV stars who were convicted of defrauding banks and evading taxes.
Strawberry played for the Mets, New York Yankees, los angeles dodgers And san francisco giants Between 1983 and 1999. He won the World Series with the 1986 Mets, starring alongside stars like Dwight Gooden and Keith Hernandez, and in 1996, 1998, and 1999 with the Yankees.
had strawberries Admitted to hospital due to heart attack in March 2024A day before he turned 62. That same year, the Mets retired his number 18 And an emotional Strawberry told the Citi Field crowd: “I’m truly, deeply sorry that I left you guys. I’ve never played baseball in front of bigger fans than you guys.”
