Forty years ago this month, 19-year-old Dwight Gooden was so excited to make his big league debut that he walked to the Astrodome early. Gooden encountered a security guard who wouldn’t let him in, thinking he was a kid.
You never think you’re a kid at 19. You always think you have the world figured out. Gooden quickly learned that he had little figured out, but the one thing he could always do was get hitters out. Gooden became one of the most prolific pitchers of a generation and an instant fan favorite.
Now, four decades removed from that day in Houston, he’s no longer a kid. He’ll be 60 this year and there is no doubt that he’s done a lot of living. The Mets honored him Sunday afternoon at Citi Field for all of the living he’s done, good and bad, and for all of the 157 wins he recorded in a Mets uniform.
“I’ve got to be thankful for the things I did accomplish, and not worry about the things that didn’t happen,” Gooden said in front of a banner bearing his name and number. “Not to blow smoke, but I won just about every award a pitcher can win. I won the World Series with both New York teams, having your number retired, last year I was inducted into the Negro League Museum’s Hall of Game. I have nothing to be ashamed of about my career.”
There were times when fans and friends wondered if he would live to see this day. A cocaine addiction that gripped him so tightly he missed the 1986 World Series parade, waking up in a drug dealer’s house that morning while his teammates celebrated along the Canyon of Heroes. An alcohol problem that landed him in jail on more than one occasion.
For years, people have wondered what his career might have been like if not for the substance abuse. But when the Mets revealed his number along the upper deck of Citi Field on Sunday, it wasn’t about what could have been, but what he did do throughout his illustrious career, and about the person he is now.
“I look at it as a celebration,” Gooden said. “I’m proud of the things that I’ve accomplished.”
The list of accomplishments is lengthy. As he said, he won nearly every major pitching award throughout his 16-year career. But his greatest accomplishment might have been what transpired on the field Sunday.
“Just being here today, to be able to speak to you guys and share the history all through his life, that’s the most important thing to our family,” said his nephew, former Mets and Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield. “Baseball was secondary, always. We just wanted to make sure he was OK. What people didn’t understand is that I always had to care for him first, and then go do what I had to do.”
Gooden’s seven kids and their kids were in attendance. Many of them never knew the Gooden Mets fans knew. His youngest son Dylan wasn’t aware of his father’s greatness until a Little League teammate’s parents informed him years ago.
“He had never seen me play, he had only seen me play Old Timers’ games with the Yankees. So one day, he comes to me and says, ‘Dad, I want to pitch,’” Gooden said. “I said, ‘OK, what are you working on?’ He said, ‘What do you know about pitching?’”
If they didn’t know what Gooden meant to the Mets and their fans, they know now.
Many of the members of the 1986 Mets were also in attendance. It’s a tight-knit group that still plays golf together and according to Mookie Wilson, still needles each other. They may be spread across the country but they’re never far from each other’s minds.
Darryl Strawberry made the trip surprising his friend. The duo have always been linked in Mets history and their stories were similar too, falling prey to drugs and alcohol in the prime of their careers.
But the support from former teammates have helped Gooden and Strawberry overcome personal strife. It helped them get clean and stay clean for days like this.
“You don’t know if a day like this will ever happen,” Mookie Wilson said. “I don’t think that any ballplayer knows if their number is going to be retired. But they might know they’re going to be among the greats of the organization. You could see that from Day 1 with this guy, you knew he was going to be something special.”
Gooden spoke to the fans as the rain fell. He told them that he tried to come back to the team that drafted him several times throughout his career. He told them what they meant to him, and he thanked them for supporting him when he was at his darkest.
After 40 years, all is forgiven. Mets fans have forgiven Gooden just as he has forgiven himself.
“Unfortunately, [cocaine] kept me sick for a long time,” Gooden said. “I think about where I am today. Today, I’m healthy mentally and physically. To have my friends and my family here celebrate with me, it means a lot to me.”
