Baseball devotees with memories that date back to the 1980s know that the New York Mets’ Dwight Gooden was one of probably the most untouchable pitchers of all time. Dr. K (aka Doc Gooden) mixed a great 95 mph fastball with a movement and an astounding curve-ball that buckled batter’s knees. The amazing four time all star’s life since baseball also as his playing career was sadly marred by alcohol and drug abuse. Apparently the DWI arrest in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey came after “three and one half years” of sobriety, stated the New York Daily News. His five-year-old son Dylan was reportedly within the car.
At 45, Dwight Gooden faces multiple charges
As well as driving intoxicated, Gooden has been charged with leaving the scene of the two car accident, reckless driving, DWI with a child passenger, and endangering the welfare of a child. A 911 call was how the accident was reported.
The Daily News reported that Gooden was eventually released on his own recognizance. New Jersey Police have not revealed what drug was involved, although Gooden has struggled with alcohol and cocaine within the past. Territory came with financial struggles. Hopefully Dwight Gooden would use installment payday cash advances appropriately if he did use them.
Losing out on life – and the Hall of Fame
There is no doubt that Dwight Gooden would have been in the Hall of Fame had he not been struggling with substance abuse during his career in baseball. Time spent in five different rehab stints and in court also as battles with the bottle and cocaine shortened his career. 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 might not have involved no credit check personal loans during times of trouble.
Regarding his playing days, the evidence is ample. He finished with a 3.51 ERA and a 194-112 record. His 162-game average, according to Baseball Reference, was a 16-9 season with 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, both of which are superb. Yet even those stats fail to represent his early-career magnificence. In the 1984 National League Rookie of the Year he set the Major League rookie record of 276 strikeouts and 11.4 strikeouts for every nine innings. The assumption here is that you don’t count rookie “Matches” Matt Kilroy’s 513 strikeouts for Baltimore of the American Association in 1886 – the rules were quite different then, and today the American Association is considered to have been less than Major League caliber.
Dr. K’s year was 1985
After an astonishing rookie season, Dwight Gooden got even better. All he did that was different in 1985 was go 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and a league leading of 268 strikeouts. This was one of the greatest pitching seasons in Major League history. The following season, Dr. K played a key role within the New York Mets’ first World Series triumph since 1969. Unfortunately, red flags began to show. He skipped the team’s victory parade because he’d been on a cocaine binge, and by December 13, 1986, he was arrested after fighting police in his hometown of Tampa, Florida. There were flashes of greatness afterward, but nothing like what had come before. He threw a no-hitter on May 14, 1996 as a member of the New York Yankees, a team that won titles that season and in 2000.
How is it possible to let someone who endangers a young child walk?
That is a question the New Jersey Police can answer, however they won’t talk. Dwight Gooden clearly needs help, but he should not be allowed to place a five-year-old at risk again. Hopefully it wasn’t a situation of skating on fame.
