Product Code Database
Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed " Dr. K" and " Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In a career spanning 430 games, he pitched innings and posted a win–loss record of 194–112, with a 3.51 earned run average (ERA), and 2,293 .
Gooden made his MLB debut in 1984 for the Mets and quickly established himself as one of the league's most talented pitchers; as a 19-year-old rookie, he earned the first of four All-Star selections, won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award, and led the league in strikeouts. In 1985, he won the NL Cy Young Award and achieved the pitching Triple Crown, compiling a 24–4 record and a league-leading 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts, and 16 . The following season, he helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series.
Gooden remained an effective pitcher in subsequent years, but his career was ultimately derailed by cocaine and alcohol addiction. After posting a losing record in each season from 1992 to 1994, Gooden was suspended for the 1995 season after a positive drug test while serving a prior suspension. As a member of the Yankees in 1996, Gooden pitched a no-hitter and helped the team on its path to a World Series championship. He pitched four additional years for as many teams, but never approached the success of his peak years with the Mets. In 2010, Gooden was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame and on April 14, 2024, Gooden's number 16 was retired by the New York Mets. Gooden's troubles with addiction continued after his retirement from baseball and resulted in several arrests. He was incarcerated for seven months in 2006 after violating the terms of his probation.
/ref> and in 1983 in which he led the Class-A Carolina League in wins, and ERA while playing for the Lynchburg Mets. Gooden had 300 strikeouts in 191 innings, a performance which convinced Triple-A Tidewater Tides manager and future Mets manager Davey Johnson to bring him up for the Tides' postseason.
When he took the mound in the fifth inning on July 10, 1984, Gooden became the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game. He complemented this distinction by striking out the side, AL batters: Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon, and Alvin Davis. Setting up Gooden, NL Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela had already struck out the side in the fourth, putting down future Hall of Famers Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson, and George Brett. The two pitchers' combined performance broke an All-Star game record, coincidentally on its celebrated 50th anniversary—Carl Hubbell's five consecutive strikeouts in 1934.
That season, Gooden won 17 games, the most by a 19-year-old since Wally Bunker won 19 games in 1964 and the second most for a Mets rookie, after Jerry Koosman's 19 wins in 1968. Gooden won eight of his last nine starts; in his final three starts of the 1984 season, he had 41 strikeouts and 1 walk. Gooden led the league in strikeouts, his 276 breaking Herb Score's rookie record of 245 in 1955, and also set the record for most strikeouts in three consecutive starts with 43. As a 19-year-old rookie, Gooden set the then-major league record for strikeouts per 9 innings, with 11.39, breaking Sam McDowell's record of 10.71 in 1965. He was voted the Rookie of the Year, giving the Mets two consecutive winners of that award (Darryl Strawberry had been the recipient in 1983). Gooden also became the third Mets pitcher to win the award, joining Tom Seaver () and Jon Matlack (). Gooden finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting, even though he had more wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched as well as a lower ERA than the NL winner, Rick Sutcliffe.
In September, he pitched back-to-back nine-inning games allowing no runs, but received no-decisions in both games. In his four losses, Gooden allowed 26 hits and five walks in 28 innings, with 28 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA. The Mets finished second in the 1985 NL East. Teammates jokingly blamed Gooden for having lost 4 games, thereby mathematically costing them the division title. That year, Gooden became one of only 15 black pitchers ever to win 20 games in a season, the most recent of whom was David Price. Gooden became the youngest-ever recipient of the Cy Young Award and Pitcher of the Year Award. That November, Gooden turned 21.
Travelers descending the steps of the side entrance to Manhattan's Penn Station were greeted by an enormous photograph of Gooden in mid-motion that recorded his season's strikeout totals as the year progressed. Likewise, those strolling the streets of Manhattan's West Side could gaze up at a 102 feet tall Sports Illustrated mural of Gooden painted on the side of a building at 351 West 42nd Street in Times Square, whose caption asked "How does it feel to look down the barrel of a loaded gun?" In a span of 50 starts from August 11, 1984, to May 6, 1986, Gooden posted a record of 37–5 with a 1.38 ERA; he had 412 strikeouts and 90 walks in 406 innings.
In another All-Star record, in 1986 Gooden became the youngest pitcher to start an All-Star Game at of age. Gooden was the Mets ace going into the playoffs, and his postseason started promisingly. He lost a 1–0 duel with Scott in the NLCS opener, then got a no-decision in Game 5, pitching 10 innings of one-run ball. He was substantially worse in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, not getting past the 5th inning in either of his two starts. Nevertheless, the Mets won four of the five non-Gooden starts and the championship. In an early red flag, Gooden failed to attend the team's victory parade. In 2011, he said that during the 1986 parade he had been using drugs at his dealer's apartment.
On August 9, 1990, Phillies pitcher Pat Combs struck Gooden in the knee with the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth inning. Gooden, seeing the pitch as retaliation for him having hit two Phillies batters, charged the mound, setting off a bench-clearing brawl. Gooden was one of six players ejected.
Gooden was accused of rape along with teammates Vince Coleman and Daryl Boston in 1991; however, authorities questioned the alleged victim and found insufficient evidence to charge anyone.
During the strike-shortened 1994 season at age 29, Gooden had a 3–4 record with a 6.31 ERA when he tested positive for cocaine use and was suspended for 60 days. He tested positive again while serving the suspension, and was further suspended for the entire 1995 season. The day after receiving the second suspension, Gooden's wife, Monica, found him in his bedroom with a loaded gun to his head.
In July 1995, the famous longstanding Gooden Times Square mural was replaced with a Charles Oakley mural. The Dwight Gooden mural was a part of the New York City landscape for more than 10 years.
Kirk Radomski, the New York Mets clubhouse attendant whose allegations are at the base of the Mitchell Report, later claimed that he took two for Gooden during the 1990s. Gooden denies the allegations.
Gooden was left off the 1996 postseason roster due to injury and fatigue. In 1997, he posted a respectable 9–5 record with a 4.91 ERA. He had one start for the Yankees in the 1997 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians; coincidentally, he again faced his 1988 postseason nemesis Orel Hershiser. Gooden left Game 4 during the sixth inning with a 2–1 lead, but the Yankee bullpen faltered in the 8th, and Gooden was left with the no-decision.
In 1999, Gooden released an autobiography titled Heat, in which he discussed his struggles with alcohol and cocaine abuse.
Gooden appeared on the 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. He was named on only 17 ballots, which was 3.3 percent of the 520 writers' ballots. Because he named on fewer than 5 percent of the ballots, he was removed from future writers ballots.
After retiring, Gooden took a job in the Yankees' front office. He acted as the go-between man during free agent contract negotiations between his nephew, Gary Sheffield, and the Yankees prior to the 2004 season. In July 2009, he was hired as a vice president of community relations for Atlantic League's Newark Bears. He left the post in November of the same year. Police: Former Yankees and Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden arrested on alleged DWI with 5-year-old son in the car NorthJersey.com, March 24, 2010
Gooden appeared at the Shea Stadium final celebration on September 28, 2008, the first time he had appeared at Shea Stadium since 2000. On April 13, 2009, he made an appearance at the newly opened Citi Field. Gooden spontaneously signed his name to a wall on the inside of the stadium. The Mets initially indicated that they would remove the signature, but soon decided instead to move the part of the wall with Gooden's writing to a different area of the stadium and acquire additional signatures from other popular ex-players. On August 1, 2010, he was officially inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame along with Darryl Strawberry, Frank Cashen, and Davey Johnson. That day, Gooden threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Gary Carter.
VH1 announced on June 11, 2011, that Gooden would be a patient on an upcoming season of the reality show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.
Gooden's number 16 was retired by the Mets on April 14, 2024.
On February 20, 2002, Gooden was arrested in Tampa and charged with driving while intoxicated, having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, and driving with a suspended license. He was arrested again in January 2003 for driving with a suspended license. On March 12, 2005, Gooden was again arrested in Tampa for punching his girlfriend after she threw a telephone at his head. He was released two days later on a misdemeanor battery charge.
On August 23, 2005, Gooden drove away from a traffic stop in Tampa after being pulled over for driving erratically. He gave the officer his driver's license, twice refused to leave his car, and then drove away. The officer remarked in his report that Gooden's eyes were glassy and bloodshot, his speech was slurred, and a "strong" odor of alcohol was present on him. Three days after the traffic stop, Gooden turned himself in to police.
Gooden was again arrested in March 2006 for violating his probation, after he arrived high on cocaine at a scheduled meeting with his probation officer. He chose prison over extended probation, perhaps in the hope that incarceration would separate him from the temptations of his addiction. He entered prison on April 17, 2006. On May 31, Gooden said in an interview from prison, "I can't come back here ... I'd rather get shot than come back here ... If I don't get the message this time, I never will." Gooden was released from prison November 9, 2006, after nearly seven months' incarceration and was not placed on further probation.
On the morning of March 24, 2010, Gooden was arrested in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, near his home , after leaving the scene of a traffic accident, having been located nearby and found to be under the influence of an undisclosed controlled substance.Wills, Kerry; and McShane, Larry. "Ex-Mets star Dwight Gooden not ready to talk about drug charge stemming from crash with son in car" , Daily News (New York), March 25, 2010. Accessed January 28, 2011. "'When the time is right, I will,' Gooden said outside his home in Franklin Lakes, N.J. 'Now is not the time. Sorry.'" He was charged with DWI with a child passenger, leaving the scene of an accident, and other motor vehicle violations. Gooden was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child because a child was with him at the time of the accident. He later pleaded guilty to child endangerment, received five years' probation, and was ordered to undergo outpatient drug treatment.
Gooden was arrested for cocaine possession in Holmdel Township, New Jersey on June 7, 2019. Gooden had been stopped by police for driving too slowly and having illegally tinted windows when they discovered two baggies suspected of containing cocaine. Gooden was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing cocaine in August and was sentenced to a year probation in November 2020.
Another arrest for driving while intoxicated occurred on July 22, 2019, this time in Newark, New Jersey. Gooden had been due in court to answer for the cocaine possession arrest in June the day after his arrest in July.
American rapper Action Bronson mentioned Gooden in his 2015 song "Baby Blue."
American hiphop group Da Lench Mob referenced Gooden along with Babe Ruth in the 1992 song "You And Your Heroes."
The baseball video game MLB Power Pros uses Gooden's Dr. K nickname as the name for an ability that makes pitchers pitch well with two strikes.
|
|
