Pitcher, New
York Mets
Age: 19
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 190
Prior to 1984:
Gooden, a
native of Tampa, Florida rose from Little League to become a star pitcher at
that city’s Hillsborough High School. He was chosen fifth overall by the Mets
in the 1982 amateur draft. He passed up college scholarship offers to sign for
$40,000 with an $85,000 signing bonus. He made an immediate impression as a 17-year-old
with Kingsport of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 1982, striking out 18
batters in 13 innings. Gooden was quickly promoted to Little Falls in the Class
A New York-Penn League. Overall in ’82 with two teams, he produced a 5-5 record
with 84 strikeouts in 78.2 innings and a 2.75 ERA. Promoted to Lynchburg of the
Class A Carolina League in 1983, Gooden refined his talent to become a dominant
pitcher, with outstanding speed. He compiled a 19-3 record and struck out 300
batters in 191 innings and had a 2.50 ERA. He was promoted to Tidewater of the
Class AAA International League to finish out his ’83 season and performed well
in the league playoffs and the round-robin Class AAA World Series. With the
Mets in rebuilding mode, Gooden joined his Tidewater manager, Dave Johnson with
the parent club for the 1984 season, where with his great fastball and
excellent curve he moved into the rotation.
1984 Season Summary
Appeared in 31
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 31
Games Started –
31 [19, tied with Steve Trout, Tim Lollar & Ed Whitson]
Complete Games
– 7 [9, tied with Larry McWilliams & Rick Sutcliffe]
Wins – 17 [3]
Losses – 9
PCT - .654 [3]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 3
[4, tied with Rick Rhoden, Bob Knepper & Rick Sutcliffe]
Innings Pitched
– 218 [13]
Hits – 161
Runs – 72
Earned Runs – 63
Home Runs – 7
Bases on Balls
– 73 [16]
Strikeouts – 276
[1]
ERA – 2.60 [2]
Hit Batters – 2
Balks – 7 [1,
tied with Steve Carlton]
Wild Pitches – 3
League-leading
strikeouts were +36 ahead of runner-up Fernando Valenzuela
Midseason
Snapshot: 8-5, ERA - 2.84, SO – 133 in 111 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 16 (in 9 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 9/12, (in 8 IP) at Philadelphia
9/17
10+ strikeout
games – 15
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. Chi. Cubs 9/7
Batting
PA – 83, AB – 70,
R – 5, H – 14, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 1, SO – 14, SB – 0, CS – 0,
AVG - .200, GDP – 3, HBP – 0, SH – 10, SF – 2
Fielding
Chances – 45
Put Outs – 21
Assists – 22
Errors – 2
DP – 0
Pct. - .956
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
All-Star
15th
in NL MVP voting (28 points, 8% share)
2nd
in NL Cy Young voting (45 points, 38% share)
NL ROY Voting
(Top 5):
Dwight Gooden,
NYM.: 118 pts. – 23 of 24 first place votes, 98% share
Juan Samuel,
Phila.: 67 pts. – 1 first place vote, 56% share
Orel Hershiser,
LAD.: 15 pts. – 13% share
Dan Gladden, SF.:
9 pts. – 8% share
Ron Darling,
NYM.: 3 pts. – 3% share
---
Mets went 90-72
to finish second in the NL Eastern Division, 6.5 games behind the
division-winning Chicago Cubs.
Aftermath of '84:
Gooden,
nicknamed “Doctor K” for his propensity to strike out batters, or “Doc” for
short, followed up in 1985 with a 24-4 record and 268 strikeouts in 276.2
innings as well as a league-leading 1.53 ERA. He received the NL Cy Young Award
for his efforts. The Mets, contenders in ’85, won the NL pennant and World
Series in 1986 with Gooden contributing a 17-6 record and 2.84 ERA. He was a
disappointing 0-2 in the World Series and encountered off-field problems in the
off-season related to heavy drinking and cocaine use and he entered a drug
rehab facility. Not playing again until halfway through the 1987 season,
Gooden’s performance dropped off to 15-7 with 148 strikeouts and a 3.21 ERA in
25 starts. He came back strong in 1988 with an 18-9 record, 175 strikeouts, and
3.19 ERA, and returned to the All-Star Game for the first time in two years. A
shoulder injury limited him to 17 starts and a 9-4 tally in 1989 but he came
back with a 19-win season in 1990 in which he recorded 223 strikeouts in 232.2
innings. Gooden was 13-7 in ’91 and experienced his first losing record in 1992
when he was 10-13 with a 72-90 ballclub. In the opening game of the ’93 season,
he broke his toe after kicking a bat rack in the dugout and during recovery
resumed cocaine use. Suspended by major league baseball he sought treatment at
the Betty Ford Center. He relapsed upon leaving rehab at the time of the major
league players’ strike that brought the season to an early end. Suspended for
all of the 1995 season, Gooden entered a recovery program and signed with the
New York Yankees in 1996. Following a slow start he pitched a no-hitter against
the Seattle Mariners and went on to compile an 11-7 record despite a 5.01 ERA.
He spent one more ineffectual season with the Yankees in ’97 and moved on to
the Cleveland Indians where he was 11-10 over two seasons. He was with Houston
and Tampa Bay in 2000 before finishing the year back with the Yankees. No
longer even close to being the dominant pitcher he was at the start of his
career, Gooden retired during spring training in 2001 while facing the
likelihood of being released by the Yankees. Overall, he compiled a 194-112
major league record, with 2293 strikeouts and a 3.51 ERA. Of that, he was
157-85 with the Mets, where he struck out 1875 batters and had a 3.10 ERA, as
well as being a four-time All-Star who won a Cy Young Award.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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