Doctor K: Life in the Fast Lane

It was a beautiful summer day in early July, July 8th, 2000 to be exact. The Yankees and Mets were in the midst of baseball history playing the first ever day/night doubleheader in two different stadiums on the same day. It turned out to only be a tease of what was to come in October of that season but there was more to the game than just Yankees vs. Mets. I’m sure fans on both sides of the game remember Chuck Knoblauch’s lead-off single that turned into two bases after Todd Zeile was called for obstruction and Mets’ manager Bobby Valentine was then tossed for arguing the call. It wasn’t more than an inning later where Knoblauch created obstruction himself and the call was missed, this time Zeile being called for interference. The Yankees, yes those Damn Yankees, swept the Mets first in Queens and then in the Bronx later that night on a day when New York area fans were treated to a bit of nostalgia, Mets fans were stung by a flashback from Dwight Gooden.
It was so sad to see Dwight “Doc” Gooden when he turned himself in to police in his most recent fall from greatness. Most baseball fans have followed this soap opera spinning out of control as Doc has fallen upon hard times since leaving the baseball diamond.

Dwight Gooden, the Mets’ number-one pick in the June 1982 draft (the fifth player taken), had a record-breaking Rookie of the Year season in 1984 after jumping straight to the majors from Lynchburg of the Class-A Carolina League. Gooden set a major league rookie record with 276 strikeouts in only 218 innings. The strikeouts earned him the nickname “Doctor K” and a rooting section in the upper deck at Shea Stadium that hung out a red K for each strikeout during his starts.

Gooden reached new heights in 1985, winning the Cy Young award and the “pitcher’s Triple Crown.” He led the NL in wins (24-4), ERA (1.53), and strikeouts (268).

In 1986, the Mets won the World Series, but Gooden went without a postseason win. The question in every newspaper’s sports section was “What’s wrong with Gooden?”

In 1987, following winter problems in his hometown Tampa that included a police beating of Gooden and his nephew Gary Sheffield, Doc went into a drug rehabilitation program just before the start of the season. After losing in the 1987 All-Star game Gooden had already tied the career record for most losses in the mid-summer classic.

Although Gooden pitched well through the rest of the 80’s he was clearly on the verge on a major decline, in baseball and his life. Gooden’s major battles were with his off-season problems, specifically his abuse of hard drugs and alcohol. The Mets of the 1980s had a reputation for partying hard, especially after their World Series victory in ’86 and Gooden may have been the poster child. The Mets’ front office tried to deal with the substance abuse problem, sending the right-hander to a rehabilitation institute, when he first tested positive for cocaine in 1987. But despite the comebacks and decent years between 1987 and 1994, Gooden fell back into his old cycle time and time again. In September 1994, Commissioner Bud Selig suspended him for the rest of 1994, and all of 1995. At what was probably the lowest point of his life, the day after his suspension, Doc sat in his bedroom with a nine-millimeter gun shoved next to his head, waiting to pull the trigger.

There probably isn’t any other ballplayer that could understand Gooden’s problems as much as long-time teammate Darryl Strawberry. They had both quickly accelerated through the Mets’ organization in the go-go ’80s. Both were young kids in the bright lights of New York, with money, drugs, and women swirling around them. They both became caught up in it all, and both took a dive when “Life in the Fast Line” took a toll on them.

Gooden and Strawberry were both given second chances by George Steinbrenner in 1996 with the Yankees and although they never gave the Yankees the same kind of production the Mets got, they both provided great leadership for a team that went on to win their first World Championship since 1978. On May 14, 1996, the Doctor was back for one more moment in the sun, throwing a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners. His fastball even reached as high as 95 mph once again. It seemed like Gooden had finally turned things around.

A hernia cost Doc much of the first half of the 1997 season and he then signed with the Cleveland Indians for 1998. After bouncing around the Majors, Gooden made his last stop in New York, once again with the Yankees. Again he provided great leadership and helped the Yankees to their 26th World Series title. After posting horrific Spring Training numbers, Gooden retired.  After a career that might have been thought of as a “what could have been” story, it had all finally come to an end for the Doctor.

Or so we thought. Since Gooden’s retirement in 2001 he has had numerous run-ins with the police, his most recent in 2005. When he was just 25 years old, he had won 100 games, and had his eyes set on 300 wins. Unfortunately, his bouts with substance abuse ruined what would have been a Hall of Fame career, and by the mid-1990s, he was battling just to stay in the Majors.

It is clear that success ate Gooden up alive. A sad story to say the least yes, but who are we to judge the life of a once great pitcher that basically turned it all in for boozing and partying? One day, baseball fans of the next generation will look back in awe of Dr. K’s accomplishments while also learning from the Doc’s mistakes on and off the field. Dwight Gooden is a great role model of what not to be off the baseball diamond. On the field he was an ace, a great leader, and a proven winner. That is how Doc should and always will be remembered.

Copyright ©2006 Colin Cerniglia. All Rights Reserved.