Dwight Gooden

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Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964 in Tampa, Florida), a.k.a. Doc Gooden or Dr. K, is an American former baseball player. He was one of the most feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s, but his career declined precipitously, primarily due to drug abuse.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Early drug problems and injuries 1.2 New York Yankees and three other teams 2 Retirement 3 Legal troubles 4 External links

Career

A native of Tampa, Florida, Gooden was drafted in the first round in 1982 and made his major-league debut on April 7, 1984 with the New York Mets at the age of 19 and quickly developed a reputation with his 97 MPH fastball and sweeping curveball, which was given the superlative nickname of "Lord Charles," in contrast with "Uncle Charlie," a common nickname for a curveball. He was dubbed "Dr. K," (by analogy with basketball's "Dr. J", Julius Erving, and also in reference to the letter "K" being the standard abbreviation for strikeout), which soon became shortened to "Doc".

That season, Gooden won 17 games (the most by a 19-year-old since Wally Bunker won 19 for the Baltimore Orioles in 1964) while losing 9, led the league in strikeouts (276, breaking Herb Score's rookie record of 245 in 1955), struck out all three batters he faced in the All-Star Game, and won Rookie of The Year honors that fall, giving the Mets two consecutive winners of that award (Darryl Strawberry was the recipient the previous season).

He was even more dominating in 1985, winning 24 games while losing only four and leading both leagues in wins, strikeouts (268) and ERA (1.53, the second lowest during the Live Ball Era behind only Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA in 1968) and the National League in complete games (16), and innings pitched (276 2/3). He became one of only 12 African-American pitchers to win 20 games and became the youngest-ever recipient of the Cy Young Award.

He then compiled a 17-6 record in helping the Mets to a World Championship in 1986.

Early drug problems and injuries

Rumors of substance abuse surrounded Gooden early in his career, and he tested positive for cocaine during spring training in 1987. He entered a rehabilitation center on April 1, 1987 to avoid being suspended and didn't make his first start of the season until June 5.

After a shoulder injury in 1989 and another injury in 1991, his career declined significantly. Gooden was charged along with two other teammates with rape in 1991, and the charges were dropped the following year. In 1994 at age 29, he 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 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.

New York Yankees and three other teams

Gooden signed with the New York Yankees in 1996 as a free agent, reuniting him with former Mets teammate Darryl Strawberry, whose rapid rise followed by drug and legal problems paralleled Gooden's. After starting the season poorly and nearly getting released, Gooden pitched a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners on May 14 of that year and ended the season with an 11-7 record--his first winning record since 1991--but never regained his early form. It would be the last time he would win more than 9 games in a single season.

He pitched for three teams from 1998 to 2000 and was unconditionally released twice before signing a minor-league contract with the Yankees and returning to the Yankees at the end of the 2000 season.

In 1999, Gooden released an autobiography titled Heat, in which he discussed his struggles with alcohol and cocaine abuse.

Retirement

Gooden retired in 2001 after he was cut by the Yankees in spring training, ending his career with a record of 194-112. More than half of those wins came before age 25. He took a job in the Yankees' front office. Gooden's nephew, Gary Sheffield, was signed to play for the Yankees prior to the 2004 season. Dwight acted as the go-between man during the negotiations.

In 2006, his first year of eligibility, Gooden received less than 5% of the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, thus becoming ineligible to appear on future BBWAA ballots (he received 17 votes; the threshold was 26). In accordance with current Hall of Fame rules, he will be eligible for consideration by the Veterans Committee in the year 2021. However, despite his meteoric early career and unquestionably great talent, his subsequent derailment makes it unlikely that he will ever be inducted into the Hall.

Legal troubles

Gooden's legal problems did not end with his career. On February 20, 2002, Gooden was arrested in his native Tampa and charged with driving while intoxicated, having an open container 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 arrested in Tampa, Florida for punching his girlfriend after she threw a telephone at his head. He was released two days later on a misdemeanor battery charge.

Troubles continued to mount for the former star when, on August 23, 2005, he drove away from a traffic stop in Tampa, after being pulled over for driving eratically. He gave the officer his driver's license, twice refused to leave his car, 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 [1].

Gooden was again arrested [2] in March 2006 for violating his probation, after he appeared for a scheduled meeting with his probation officer intoxicated with cocaine. He chose prison over extended probation, perhaps in the hope that incarceration will separate him from the temptations of his addiction [3]. He is sentenced to one year in prison for his latest offense. He will likely serve seven months of the one year sentence.

External links

• Template:Baseball-reference

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