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President Donald Trump has pardoned former Major League Baseball slugger Darryl Strawberry.
Throughout his playing career, the former New York Mets star had numerous run-ins with the law, fueled by drug and alcohol issues, leading to three separate suspensions from the MLB.
But after turning his life around, Trump rewarded the eight-time All-Star with clemency.
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1986 New York Mets alumnus Darryl Strawberry is introduced during a ceremony preceding a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on Saturday, May 28, 2016, in the Queens borough of New York. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
“President Trump has approved the pardon of three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star Darryl Strawberry,” the White House said in an email to PK Press Club Digital. “Mr. Strawberry served his sentence and repaid his taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. After his career, Mr. Strawberry found faith in Christianity and remained sober for over a decade. He became active in ministry and opened a recovery center that still operates today.”
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.
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.
Former New York Mets player Darryl Strawberry throws out a ceremonial first pitch 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. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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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.
Strawberry and Doc Gooden are notoriously linked due to their immense talent while playing for the Mets while battling drug and alcohol abuse. Strawberry was able to turn his life around much earlier than Gooden, but Gooden seems to have stayed on track in recent years. The two appeared together during last year’s National League Championship Series between the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers and were the subject of ESPN’s 30 for 30 show, “Doc and Darryl.”
Both of their numbers were retired by the Mets last season.
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)
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.
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.
