Darryl Strawberry says his phone wouldn't stop ringing on Thursday, and when he finally picked up, it was Donald Trump on the other end.
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The former Mets star revealed on Instagram that Trump personally called to tell him he was granting him a full pardon for his 1995 tax evasion conviction.
"President Trump spoke warmly about my baseball days in NYC, praising me as one of the greatest players of the '80s and celebrating the Mets," Strawberry wrote. "Then, he told me he was granting me a full pardon from my past."
Strawberry pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 1995, paid roughly $350,000 in back taxes, and received three years probation. He said the pardon is personal — not political.
"This has nothing to do with politics — it's about a Man, President Trump, caring deeply for a friend," he posted. "God used him as a vessel to set me free forever!"
Strawberry had multiple legal issues during and after his playing career, including drug-related charges in 2002 that sent him to prison for part of a 22-month sentence.
Now 62, Strawberry has spent the last two decades working in ministry and addiction recovery while becoming a symbol of life after chaos. He played 17 MLB seasons, won three World Series titles, made eight All-Star teams, and had his No. 18 retired by the Mets.
Now, he says he gets to fully close the book on the darkest chapter of his past.
