Where Have You Gone Doctor K?

At the tender age of 19-years old Dwight Gooden was becoming a baseball legend. He was striking out batters at a dizzying pace. In only his second season (1985) in the major leagues the 20-year old Gooden did something that had only been done four times since 1939 by a Major League pitcher – he won the pitching Triple Crown. But by the age of 22 he was already suspended from baseball and in a drug rehab. And now, at the age of 41 he’s a fugitive on the run. Gooden was pulled over the other night in his hometown of Tampa, Florida and fled. The officer who pulled him over said he could smell alcohol on Dwight's breath, his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot. Gooden fled the scene and hasn’t been found yet.
How did this happen to a guy that people were in such awe of?

Gooden broke onto the baseball scene in his rookie season of 1984 and won 17 games that season for the NL East’s 2nd place New York Mets. Only 19-years old and he led the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 276. The New York media dubbed the kid, “Doctor K” and it stuck. Doc was part of the revitalized Mets team that would have more wins than any other team in baseball from 1984-1990…but unfortunately, the Mets partied more than any other team in baseball too. As the shy kid from Tampa grew bigger and bigger the temptations of the Big Apple and his fame got hold of him.

After winning the 1986 World Series with the Mets Gooden found himself in trouble because of drugs. He missed about ten starts in the ’87 season because he was suspended for 60 days during spring training and was placed in a mandatory drug rehab for cocaine. He came back and finished the season strong with a 15-7 record, a far cry from his ’85 Triple Crown season. His stat line that season: 24-4 with 268 K’s and a 1.53 ERA. But his fortunes were slowly changing. His blazing fastball was losing some of its speed. His incredible curveball was losing some of its break. Doctor K was becoming more hittable.

Doc did win 18 games in ’88 and posted 19 wins in ‘90. He passed up his 35th start that year missing the chance to win 20 games for the second time in his career because the Mets were out of it…he let a September call-up take his start in the last few days of the season.

His career was so promising and many were calling him a “Future Hall of Famer”. He was a four-time National League All-Star in ’84, ’85, ’86 and ’88. He was also a really good hitter too hitting 8 career homeruns and was never an automatic out.

But he could never outrun his addictions. He was suspended again with the Mets and missed more than a year in the ‘94-’95 seasons. Later arrests in his hometown of Tampa didn’t stop him either. And domestic assault charges earlier this year didn’t stop him.

It brings a tear to my eyes as I write this. How did someone who was so great at such a young age and showed so much potential end up like this? I guess Gooden has yet to hit “bottom”…after drugs and alcohol have caused his life so many problems and turned a once “Future Hall of Famer” into a mediocre pitcher he has yet to see the light and realize that he needs to get clean. I hope this is “bottom” for him and that one of the guys I grew up loving is alive and has the chance to make something of his life.