Baseball fans with memories that date back to the 1980s know the New York Mets’ Dwight Gooden was one of one of the most untouchable pitchers of all time. Dr. K (aka Doc Gooden) combined an amazing 95 mph fastball with an excellent movement and a magnificent curveball that buckled bather’s knees. The incredible four time all star’s life since baseball as well as his playing career was sadly marred by alcohol and drug abuse. The New York Daily News said that Gooden’s DWI arrest in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey came after “three and one half years” of sobriety. His five-year-old son Dylan was reportedly within the car.
Dwight Gooden faces several charges at 45
As well as being intoxicated when driving, Gooden has also been charged with DWI with a child passenger, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of the two car accident. The accident was reported via a 911 call.
It was reported by the Daily News that Gooden was released eventually on his own recognizance. The drug involved has not been revealed by the New Jersey Police, although Gooden has had problems with cocaine and alcohol in the past. Financial struggles went with the territory. If Dwight Gooden were to use installment payday cash advances, I would hope he’d use them appropriately.
Losing out on life – and the Hall of Fame
There is no doubt that Dwight Gooden would are in the Hall of Fame had he not been struggling with substance abuse through his career in baseball. His career was shortened by battles with cocaine and the bottle also as the five separate years he spent in court and in rehab stints. Yet that doesn’t even begin to touch upon how much Dwight Gooden has lost in life due to addiction. That is a private struggle between Dwight Gooden and his family, one that may or may not have involved no credit check personal loans during times of trouble.
Regarding his playing days, the evidence is sufficient. He finished with a 194-112 record as well as a 3.51 ERA. According to Baseball Reference, he has 162-game average with a 16-9 season and 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Yet even those stats fail to represent his early-career magnificence. He set the Major League rookie record of 276 strikeouts and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings within the 1984 national Rookie of the Year. You can’t count the rookie “Matches” Matt Kilroy’s 513 strikeouts for the Baltimore of American Association in 1886 since the rules were very different then and today the American Association is considered less than Major League caliber.
1985 was Dr. K’s year
Dwight Gooden got even better after a great rookie season. In 1985 he just went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and a league leading strikeout of 268 strikeouts. This was one of the best pitching seasons in Major League history. The following season, Dr. K played a key role in the New York Mets’ first World Series triumph since 1969. Unfortunately, red flags began to show. He was arrested after fighting police in his hometown of Tampa, Florida by December 13, 1986 and missed his team’s victory parade because he’d been on a cocaine binge. There were a few great things that happened but nothing that lived up to his previous greatness. He played for the New York Yankees, a team that won titles in 1996 and 2000, and threw a no hitter on Might 14, 1996.
How does someone who endangers a young child like that walk?
That’s a question for New Jersey Police to answer, but they aren’t talking. Gooden obviously needs help, but he shouldn’t be permitted to put his five year old in danger again. Hopefully the situation wasn’t one of skating on fame.
