President Donald Trump has pardoned former New York Mets right fielder Darryl Strawberry on his previous tax evasion and drug charges, a White House official confirmed to The Epoch Times on Nov. 7.
“Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion,” the official said.
The White House official noted that Strawberry’s sobriety and efforts to give back to his community contributed to the president’s decision to pardon him.
“Following his career, Mr. Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade—he has become active in ministry and started a recovery center which still operates today,” the official said.
“Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump for my full pardon and for finalizing this part of my life, allowing me to be truly free and clean from all of my past,” Strawberry captioned with a red heart emoji.
Strawberry said Trump called him on Nov. 6 to tell him about the pardon.
“At 4:37pm, yesterday I was home caring for my wife as she recovered from surgery, when my phone kept ringing relentlessly,” Strawberry continued.
“Half asleep, I glanced over and saw a call from Washington, D.C. Curious, I answered, and to my amazement, the lady on the line said, ‘Darryl Strawberry, you have a call from the President of the United States, Donald Trump.’ I put it on speakerphone with my wife nearby, and President Trump spoke warmly about my baseball days in NYC, praising me as one the greatest [players] of the ‘80s and celebrating the Mets. Then, he told me he was granting me a full pardon from my past,” he wrote.
Strawberry said he was overwhelmed with gratitude and thanked God for setting him free from his past.
“This experience has deepened my faith and commitment to working for His kingdom as a true follower of Jesus Christ,” Strawberry said. “This has nothing to do with politics—it’s about a Man, President Trump, caring deeply for a friend. God used him as a vessel to set me free forever! I’m Free I’m Free.”
The 1983 National League Rookie of the Year played for the Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants between 1983 and 1999. The athlete faced a slew of legal trouble in the 1990s and early 2000s before he overhauled his lifestyle.
Strawberry pleaded guilty in 1995 to a single felony count of tax evasion after he failed to report $350,000 in income from autographs, personal appearances, and sales of memorabilia.
The eight-time MLB All-Star was sentenced to pay $430,000 in the case, but his legal troubles intensified as he was suspended from the MLB on three different occasions for substance abuse and soliciting sex from a prostitute. Strawberry was found guilty of violating his probation numerous times and spent nearly a year in prison.
After his release, he found sobriety, founded a ministry, and appeared on Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” reality show.
