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Darryl Strawberry posted a heartfelt message thanking President Donald Trump for pardoning the eight-time MLB All-Star.
The New York Mets legend was pardoned, the White House announced Friday, in part because she turned to faith and remained sober after turning her life around from drug and alcohol abuse that fueled the arrests and suspensions.
“Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump, for my complete forgiveness and for finalizing this part of my life, allowing me to be truly free and pure from all of my past,” Strawberry wrote on Instagram, alongside three photos of the two together.
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Former New York Mets player Darryl Strawberry throws out a ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field on July 26, 2022, in New York. (Adam Faim/Getty Images)
“Yesterday at 4:37 p.m., I was home caring for my wife while she was recovering from surgery, when my phone kept ringing non-stop. 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 USA, Donald Trump”. I put it on speakerphone with my wife nearby and President Trump spoke warmly about my baseball years in New York, praising me as one of the greatest players of the ’80s and celebrating the Mets. Then he told me he was granting me full forgiveness for my past. My wife captured the moment on video and I was overcome with gratitude, thanking God for freeing me from my past and giving me helped me become a better man, husband, and father. This experience deepened my faith and my commitment to working for His kingdom as a true follower of Jesus Christ.
“This has nothing to do with politics – this is about a man, President Trump, who cares deeply for a friend. God used him as a vessel to set me free forever! I am free, I am free; I am so humbled and grateful.”
The final years of Strawberry’s career were fraught with legal troubles, including a 1999 arrest as a member of the New York Yankees for soliciting sex from a police officer who was posing as a prostitute. This resulted in a 140-day suspension and 21 months of probation, as well as community service.
Darryl Strawberry, Donald Trump and a guest attend the Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on March 26, 2012 in New York City. (James Devaney/WireImage)
TRUMP FORGIVES EX-MLB STAR DARRYL STRAWBERRY AFTER FAITH AND RETURN TO SOBRIETY
The following year, he tested positive for cocaine, leading to a suspension for the entire 2000 season, effectively ending his career. He served 11 months in prison from 2002 to 2003 for violating non-drug rules at a treatment center. Strawberry also admitted to having sex between innings of his matches.
After the 1994 season, he was accused of tax fraud. He was suspended to start the 1995 season for cocaine and admitted to having a drug problem.
The eight-time All-Star met his current wife at a drug recovery convention.
Ironically, Strawberry appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” hosted by Trump, in 2010.
During his first nine years, when he was named the National League Rookie of the Year and an eight-time All-Star, Strawberry was a .263 hitter with an .875 OPS, averaging 36 home runs and 108 RBIs per 162 games.
Former New York Mets player Darryl Strawberry walks across the field before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York, New York on October 16, 2024. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
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Strawberry won the World Series with the Mets in 1986 and with the Yankees in 1996, 1998 and 1999. He had been the Mets’ franchise leader in home runs with 252 until Pete Alonso surpassed him earlier this season.
