President Donald Trump on Friday granted a full presidential pardon to former major-league star Darryl Strawberry, wiping the slate clean on his 1995 felony conviction for federal tax evasion. The action comes more than three decades after Strawberry’s legal troubles first made headlines.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pardon was based on Strawberry’s rehabilitation and contributions to his community. “Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion,” the official stated. “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.”
A Life of Triumph, Trouble and Turnaround
Strawberry, now 63, rose to fame as a power-hitting outfielder for the New York Mets, the New York Yankees and other clubs during a 17-season career that included eight All-Star appearances and more than 300 home runs. His athletic achievements earned him Rookie of the Year honours in 1983 and a World Series ring with the Mets in 1986.
His off-field challenges were well-documented. In 1995 he pleaded guilty to failing to report roughly $350,000 in income from autograph appearances and memorabilia sales. He agreed to repay more than $430,000 in back taxes and penalties. He also faced state drug-possession and solicitation charges, eventually serving 11 months in a Florida state prison.
In recent years, Strawberry embraced evangelical Christianity and said he has stayed sober for more than a decade. In a post on social media following the pardon, he wrote: “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 further described how the president called him directly: “President Trump spoke warmly about my baseball days in NYC, praising me as one the greatest player of the ’80s … Then, he told me he was granting me a full pardon from my past.”
The pardon clears the federal tax conviction but does not erase any state-level convictions that remain on Strawberry’s record, including his prison time. For his part, Trump has used his clemency powers repeatedly, and this move adds a high-profile athletic figure to his list of pardoned individuals.
Strawberry called the gesture “a personal, non-political act of compassion.” He added: “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!”