Ex-Mets star Darryl Strawberry talks Trump pardon during church sermon

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Former New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry expressed his gratitude toward President Donald Trump on Sunday during a church sermon in Oklahoma.

Trump pardoned Strawberry earlier this month for past tax evasion and drug charges. Strawberry was welcomed into a Tulsa church by Jackson Lahmeyer, the founder of Pastors for Trump. He received cheers from the congregation of more than 400 when he mentioned the pardon.

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Former New York Mets player Darryl Strawberry speaks during a ceremony to retire his No. 18 before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on July 1, 2024. (Brad Penner/USA Today Sports)

"God just completely set me free when he gave me a pardon from President Donald J. Trump," he said. "Other presidents had opportunities, but they didn’t do it."

Strawberry was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1980 MLB Draft. He made his debut at the age of 21 in 1983 and played for New York until 1990. He spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees.

He won three World Series titles, hit 335 home runs and batted .259 with a .862 OPS.

Strawberry battled legal, health and personal problems throughout his career. He served 11 months in a Florida prison for a 2002 probation violation.

The 63-year-old credited his Christian faith for helping him turn his life around and allowing him to remain sober for more than two decades.

"All glory to God because he found me in a pit and put me in a pulpit," Strawberry said.

The devil "should have killed me when he had a chance," he joked.

Darryl Strawberry poses with some of the people who heard him preach on