Baseball fans with memories that date back to the 1980s know that the New York Mets’ Dwight Gooden was one of the most untouchable pitchers of all time. Dr. K (aka Doc Gooden) combined an amazing 95 mph fastball with a fantastic movement and a magnificent curveball that buckled bather’s knees. The amazing four time all star’s life after baseball as well as his playing career was sadly marred by alcohol and drug abuse. According to the New York Daily News, Dwight Gooden’s recent DWI arrest in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey came after “three-and-one-half years” of sobriety. Dylan, his five year old son, was sadly in the car.
Dwight Gooden, 45, faces several charges
As well as driving intoxicated, Gooden has been charged with leaving the scene of the two vehicle accident, reckless driving, DWI with a child passenger, and endangering the welfare of a child. The accident was reported though a 911 call.
Dwight Gooden was eventually released on his own recognizance, reports the Daily News. The drug involved has not been revealed by the New Jersey Police, although Gooden has had troubles with cocaine and alcohol in the past. Financial struggles went with the territory. If Dwight Gooden were to use installment payday loans, I would hope he’d use them appropriately.
Losing out on life – and the Hall of Fame
If Dwight Gooden hadn’t struggled with drug abuse in his career with baseball, there is little doubt that he would have made it into the Hall of Fame. 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 might or might not have involved no credit check personal loans during times of trouble.
The proof is ample in his play day. He finished with a 194-112 record as well as a 3.51 ERA. Both of his records are excellent according to Baseball reference; he had a 162-game average, a 16-9 season with 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Yet even those stats fail to represent his early-career magnificence. The 1984 National League Rookie of the Year set the Major League rookie record with 276 strikeouts and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings. 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 nowadays the American Association is considered less than Major League caliber.
Dr. K’s best year was 1985
After an astounding rookie season, Dwight Gooden got even better. All he did in 1985 was go 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and league-leading 268 strikeouts. Major League record, it was one of one of the most dominant pitching seasons. Dr. K played a key role the following season with the New York Mets’ first world series triumph since 1969. However, red flags began to show. Because he was on a cocaine binge, he skipped the team’s victory parade, and he was arrested after fighting police in his hometown of Tampa, Florida by December 13, 1986. He had a few victories afterward but there was next to nothing like what had been before. He threw a no-hitter on Might 14, 1996 as a member of the New York Yankees, a team that won titles that season and in 2000.
How can someone like that who hurts a young child walk?
That’s a question for New Jersey Police to answer, but they aren’t talking. Gooden needs serious help, and he shouldn’t be permitted to put his five year old in any danger ever again. Hopefully it wasn’t a position of skating on fame.
