{"id":271711,"date":"2025-11-09T08:30:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T08:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/271711\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T08:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T08:30:18","slug":"mlb-legend-says-god-used-donald-trump-to-set-me-free-after-pardon-for-tax-evasion-while-caring-for-sick-wife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/271711\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB legend says God ‘used Donald Trump to set me free’ after pardon for tax evasion while caring for sick wife"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JAKE NISSE, US SPORTS WRITER<\/a> and ASSOCIATED PRESS <\/p>\n

Published: 22:02 EST, 8 November 2025 | Updated: 00:49 EST, 9 November 2025 <\/p>\n

MLB legend Darryl Strawberry said that God used Donald Trump<\/a> ‘as a vessel to set me free forever’ after the president pardoned him of previous tax evasion and drug charges<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Strawberry, an eight-time All-Star best known for his time with the Mets, struggled with legal, health and personal problems, and pleaded guilty in 1995 to a single felony count of tax evasion.<\/p>\n

He paid more than $430,000 as part of that case, but later served 11 months in Florida<\/a>\u00a0state prison from 2002-03 after\u00a0pleading no contest to charges of possession of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute. He was initially sentenced to probation for those crimes but was ultimately charged with violating his probation numerous times.<\/p>\n

After previously speaking of his battles with depression<\/a>, he has since found faith in Christianity and offered a religious explanation as for why Trump chose to pardon him.<\/p>\n

‘This has nothing to do with politics \u2014 it’s about a Man, President Trump, caring deeply for a friend. God used him as a vessel to set me free forever!,’ Strawberry wrote on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Strawberry, who underwent surgery and chemotherapy for\u00a0colon cancer in 1998, received the news of his pardon as he was caring for his ailing wife, Tracy.<\/p>\n

\"Former <\/p>\n

Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry said that\u00a0God used Donald Trump ‘as a vessel to set me free forever’<\/p>\n

\"Strawberry, <\/p>\n

Strawberry, 63, was previously charged with tax evasion and drug charges<\/p>\n

\"He <\/p>\n

He said that he received the news of his pardon while caring for his ailing wife Tracy (pictured last month)<\/p>\n

He wrote on social media that his wife – who has been battling Early Stage Cancer – had been recovering from surgery when he got a call from the president.<\/p>\n

‘President Trump spoke warmly about my baseball days in NYC, praising me as one the greatest player of the ’80s and celebrating the Mets,’ he recalled of their conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Then, he told me he was granting me a full pardon from my past. My wife captured the moment on video, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude\u2014thanking God for setting me free from my past, helping me become a better Man, Husband and Father.<\/p>\n

‘This experience has deepened my faith and commitment to working for His kingdom as a true follower of Jesus Christ.’<\/p>\n

Speaking on background about the pardon, a White House official noted on Friday that Strawberry found faith in Christianity and has been sober for a decade-plus, and that he’d become active in ministry and started a still-active recovery center.<\/p>\n

\"Strawberry <\/p>\n

Strawberry has found faith in Christianity following his personal and legal troubles<\/p>\n

The last couple of years have been difficult for Strawberry and his family,\u00a0as he was\u00a0hospitalized with a heart attack in March 2024, a day before he turned 62.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And in July of this year, he revealed on social media that Tracy was preparing\u00a0‘for major surgeries to battle Early Stage Cancer and face a Hip replacement at the end of this year.’<\/p>\n

Last month, he said that Tracy had undergone back-to-back surgeries and faced ‘major health challenges.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Strawberry is best known for his time with the Mets from 1983-90.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also played for the Yankees,\u00a0 Dodgers, and\u00a0 Giants between 1983 and 1999.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He won the World Series with the 1986 Mets, starring alongside the likes of Dwight Gooden and Keith Hernandez, and with the Yankees in 1996, 1998 and 1999.<\/p>\n

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\n MLB legend says God ‘used Donald Trump to set me free’ after pardon for tax evasion while caring for sick wife<\/p>\n