Dwight Eugene Gooden, Sr.

Dwight Gooden, nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In a career spanning 430 games, he pitched 2,800+2⁄3 innings and posted a win–loss record of 194–112, with a 3.51 earned run average (ERA), and 2,293 strikeouts.

Gooden made his MLB debut in 1984 for the Mets and quickly established himself as one of the league's most talented pitchers; as a 19-year-old rookie, he earned the first of four All-Star selections, won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award, and led the league in strikeouts. In 1985, he won the NL Cy Young Award and achieved the pitching Triple Crown, compiling a 24–4 record and a league-leading 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts, and 16 complete games. The following season, he helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series. Gooden remained an effective pitcher in subsequent years, but his career was ultimately derailed by cocaine and alcohol addiction. After posting a losing record in each season from 1992 to 1994, Gooden was suspended for the 1995 season after a positive drug test while serving a prior suspension. As a member of the Yankees in 1996, Gooden pitched a no-hitter and helped the team on its path to a World Series championship. He pitched four additional years for as many teams, but never approached the success of his peak years with the Mets. In 2010, Gooden was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Sources

Sources

• Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
  • Name: Dwight Eugene Gooden; Gender: Male; Race: Black; Marriage Date: 21 Nov 1987; Marriage Place: Hillsborough, Florida, USA; Spouse: Monica Colleen Harris; Certificate: 115752; Volume: 6523; Source: Florida Department of Health.
• Ancestry.com. U.S., Baseball Questionnaires, 1945-2005 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
  • Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); San Diego, California; U.S. Baseball Questionnaires, 1945-2005; Box Number: 555685.
    • Name: Dwight Eugene Gooden; Birth Date: 16 Nov 1964; Birth Place: Tampa, Florida; Graduation Date: 1982; Start date: 1982; Team: New York Mets; Position: Pitcher; Industry: Baseball.
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• "Dwight Gooden." Wikipedia, revision of 16 March 2022. < link > Accessed 19 April 2022.
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• Kumar, Anita. "Dwight Gooden loses his father and coach." Tampa Bay Times, published 12 January 1997. < link > Accessed 2 May 2022.
• Newhan, Ross. "It's All Relative for Sheffield, Brewers' Rookie With Family Tradition." Los Angeles Times via Newspapers.com, published 25 March 1989, p, C-17. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
• Salo, Jackie. "Dwight Gooden’s ex-wife says troubled Mets icon 'tired' of his demons." New York Post, published 24 July 2019. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.
• Testerman, Jeff. "Where did Gooden's millions go?" Tampa Bay Times, published 16 November 2003. < link > Accessed 1 May 2022.