Trump pardons Mets legend Darryl Strawberry on tax evasion charge

Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News on Nov 7, 2025

Published in Baseball

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President Donald Trump is granting a pardon to former baseball star Darryl Strawberry, who pleaded guilty three decades ago to tax evasion, according to a White House official.

The White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for over a decade, adding that he has become active in ministry and started a recovery center. The decision was reported earlier by the New York Post.

Strawberry became a legend with the New York Mets in the 1980s — when Trump rose to prominence in the city as a real estate developer — winning National League Rookie of the Year honors, seven All-Star selections and the 1986 World Series.

After another All-Star nod in 1991 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Strawberry’s career took a downturn as he struggled with substance abuse and addiction.

He was suspended before the 1995 season after testing positive for cocaine and shortly afterward entered a federal guilty plea for evading taxes by underreporting more than $350,000 in income from personal appearances and autograph shows. He was sentenced to six months of home confinement and mandated to pay back taxes.

Strawberry had multiple run-ins with the law during his Major League Baseball career, incurring other suspensions. He was arrested in 1999 for soliciting sex from a police officer and possessing cocaine and in 2002, he was jailed for 11 months in Florida for violating the terms of his probation stemming from cocaine-possession charges.

After his 1995 suspension, Strawberry signed with the New York Yankees and won two World Series with the club amid its dynasty run. He also spent a year with the San Francisco Giants.

Trump has given clemency to a number of people convicted of white-collar offenses, including political allies and people affiliated with his business ventures. The group includes Binance Holdings Ltd. founder Changpeng Zhao, the three co-founders of the crypto exchange BitMEX, Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton and former Republican Representative George Santos.

Trump on his first day in office pardoned nearly all those charged in connection with their role in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, including those who assaulted law enforcement officers.