Original Article By Newsmax Wires
President Donald Trump has granted a presidential pardon to former New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry, who pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion in 1995, Newsmax confirmed Friday.
Strawberry, 63, was sentenced to three years’ probation and six months of home confinement and repaid roughly $350,000 in back taxes and penalties.
“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry, three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star,” a White House official told multiple outlets, including the New York Post.
“Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. Following his career, he found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade — he has become active in ministry and founded a recovery center that still operates today,” the official added.
Strawberry thanked the president in a post on Instagram.
“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,” he wrote.
Trump’s pardon applies only to the federal tax case and does not erase Strawberry’s subsequent state convictions. In 1999, he pleaded no contest to cocaine possession and solicitation in Florida, and in 2002, he served nearly a year in prison for violating probation terms.
Strawberry was one of baseball’s brightest stars of the 1980s and early 1990s. Drafted No. 1 overall by the Mets in 1980, he became a key power hitter, leading the team to the 1986 World Series title and earning eight All-Star selections.
Known for his towering home runs and smooth left-handed swing, Strawberry also won two more championships with the New York Yankees in the late 1990s.
Despite struggles with addiction and legal troubles, his 335 career home runs and three World Series rings cement his place among New York baseball legends.
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