Man, this guy was awesome!! Too bad drugs destroyed him! Look at his stats for 85 when he won the Cy Young award (Unbelievable) He was the "Pujols" of his day. Anybody remember him pitching? How was he as a person ? Likeable? Good team player? Just curious . A little before my time. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-g...ov=ap&type=lgns

Stats: Dwight Gooden Pitching Stats

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pl...php?p=goodedw01

I saw him pitch a few times in his early years. It was always an event when Gooden was on the mound. The best game I saw was on a Friday night in August 1984 against the Cubs. It was the first year that Met team was good and they were battling Chicago for the lead in the East; the first game in a huge series -- probably the biggest series in a decade at the time. Shea was packed (as it often was back in the 80s) and rocking like the Dixie Chicks. Gooden was spectacular and George Foster threw out the tying run at the plate. Mets won 2-1.

This is old news Living in the Tampa area, we've had enough of his shiit. He's not above the law. Fcuk him.

Still cant deny his numbers in a NON steroid era!

I dont know about him pitching in a non steroid era, but I'll agree with you about his pitching numbers. He had it all, then pissed it away.

I saw him in 85 or 86 pitch against the astros and Nolan Ryan, the game was a 1-0 "yawner". I look back now and realize what a classic pitching match-up it really was!

I watched almost every Gooden start from 1984 to about 1987, when I left for college. In September '84 I had a biopsy done on my collarbone (negative) and, thanks to a bad reaction to anesthetic, the hospital wanted to keep me overnight. There was no cable in the room and Gooden was pitching that night, so I told them "no thanks." I went home and Doc rewarded me with 16 strikeouts (his second straight start with that many), breaking Herb Score's rookie record in the process. Five days later he nearly pitched a no-hitter against the Cubs, a slow roller that Ray Knight mishandled in the fifth being the only hit.

In 1987 I took the train to Philly to watch Gooden pitch in person for the first time. I don't remember who pitched for the Phils but I do remember both Darryl Strawberry and Mike Schmidt hit homers in that game. Doc pitched into the tenth inning -- who does that anymore? -- and lost on a pinch-hit HR to Luis Aguayo, of all people.

Back in the day, he was dominant, he was spectacular, he was everything. He had one of the most beautiful, classic windups in all of baseball. He had two pitches -- a high hard one and a huge yellowhammer of a curve that just dropped off the table. Both were unhittable. He was the righthanded Koufax. In 1984 and 1985 (when became the first righthanded pitcher in over 50 years to lead BOTH leagues in wins, ERA and strikeouts), he was just insanely good. And he hadn't even turned 21. Almost an automatic Met win every time he stepped on the mound, especially in '85. His '85 season and Guidry's '78 year are still the most dominant pitching performances I've ever seen -- I only go back to about '77, though.

What happened to him is sad but not altogether surprising, given his upbringing and the environment on the mid-'80s Mets. I'm not excusing him, though. Like Erynthered said, he had it all and pissed it away. But for a couple of years there... there was nobody better. Nobody.