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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 problems, leading to three separate suspensions from MLB.
But after turning his life around, Trump rewarded the eight-time All-Star with the pardon.
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“President Trump has approved a pardon for Darryl Strawberry, three-time World Series champion and eight-time MLB All-Star,” the White House said in an email to Fox News Digital. “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.”
The later years of Strawberry’s career were riddled with legal troubles, including an arrest in 1999 as a member of the New York Yankees for soliciting sex from a police officer who was posing as a prostitute. That resulted in a 140-day suspension and 21 months of probation, along with community service.
The following year, he tested positive for cocaine, resulting in 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 games.
After the 1994 season, he was charged with tax evasion. He was suspended to begin the 1995 season for cocaine and admitted to having a substance abuse problem.
The eight-time All-Star met his current wife at a drug recovery convention.
In an ironic twist, Strawberry appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” hosted by Trump, in 2010.
Strawberry and Doc Gooden have notoriously been tied together 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 appears to have stayed on the right track in recent years. The two appeared together in last year’s National League Championship Series between the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers and were the subjects of ESPN’s 30 for 30, “Doc and Darryl.”
Both of their numbers were retired by the Mets last season.
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During his nine prime years, when he was named the National League Rookie of the Year and an All-Star eight times, Strawberry was a .263 hitter with an .875 OPS, averaging 36 home runs and 108 RBI 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.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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