President Trump pardons baseball legend Darryl Strawberry: ‘This has nothing to do with politics’

The MLB legend said of his “friend” Donald Trump, “God used him as a vessel to set me free forever!”

Baseball legend Darryl Strawberry received a full pardon from President Donald Trump for a federal conviction dating back 30 years.

Strawberry, 63, pled guilty to tax evasion in 1995 fro failing to report $350,000 in income from autographs, personal appearances and sales of memorabilia. He served 6 months of home confinement and two years of probation.

The MLB all-star, who suffered from colon cancer in the ’90s, was also sentenced to probation and suspended from baseball after he pleaded no contest to possession of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute. Strawberry served 11 months in Florida state prison and was released in 2003.

The former athlete, who has played for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, had been public about his battle with depression, and was charged with violating his probation several times.

“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry, three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star,” said a White House spokesperson. “Mr. Strawberry served time and paid back taxes after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion. 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.”

Strawberry thanked Trump in a social media post, revealing the president personally called him to share the good news. The former baseball great worked with Trump on “Celebrity Apprentice” and the two have remained friends over the years.

“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 wrote on a post with a picture of him and Trump.

Strawberry said that Trump called him on Thursday, sharing, “I was home caring for my wife as she recovered from surgery, when my phone kept ringing relentlessly. Half asleep, I glanced over and saw a call from Washington DC. 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.'”

“President Trump spoke warmly about my baseball days in NYC, praising me as one the greatest player of the ‘80s and celebrating the Mets. Then, he told me he was granting me a full pardon from my past,” he conttinued.

Strawberry said the pardon has “deepened my faith and commitment to working for His kingdom as a true follower of Jesus Christ.”

The baseball star emphasized that his post had “nothing to do with politics,” adding, “It’s about a Man, President Trump, caring deeply for a friend. God used him as a vessel to set me free forever!”

Since returning to the White House, Trump has pardoned several people, including Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, and more than 1,500 Jan 6 rioters who violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021.