Dwight Gooden says he's happy and finally can enjoy life fully as Mets number retirement nears
Dwight Gooden attends the Garden Of Laughs Comedy Benefit at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 2024. Credit: Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris
Dwight Gooden was at Citi Field on Monday for a walk-through of the ceremony that will take place on April 14, when the Mets will retire his No. 16.
“Getting goosebumps,” Gooden told Newsday in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “But good goosebumps. I’m soaking it all in.”
In advance of the ceremony and a “Doc-umentary” about his life and career that premiered on Thursday on SNY, the Glen Cove resident has been stepping up his charitable appearances.
He’s bringing to schools, hospitals and other venues an open and honest message of past glory on the field amid his daily struggle of dealing with addiction.
What Gooden calls “the mess that I made” has been well-chronicled since he burst onto the Shea Stadium scene as a 19-year-old NL Rookie of the Year in 1984.
But when Mets owner Steve Cohen called Gooden last year to tell him his number was one of two being retired this season (Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 will be retired in a June 1 ceremony), Gooden realized it was time to embrace his past and bring his experiences into the present.
“With the number being retired, obviously it’s a great thing,” he said. “But I think with that comes a bigger responsibility to try to represent the organization to the best of my ability.
Dwight Gooden won the 1985 NL Cy Young Award with a league-leading 24 wins, 1.53 ERA, 16 complete games, 276.2 innings pitched and 268 strikeouts. Credit: AP/Ray Stubblebine
“Also for myself, being in recovery, I have to be careful when things are going real good or real bad that I stay even-keeled. I figured it would be the best time. It’s something I had been doing in the past, but I’m stepping up more, speaking more at schools and hospitals. Just telling my story, trying to help those in need, the next guy who’s struggling or a family member that may be struggling.
“If I can touch one person, I think I’ve done my job. If I can get to one person, then that person can talk to someone else, maybe help them see the light. Sometimes the best reward for me is when somebody comes up to me afterward and says, ‘Man, thank you for sharing that. I’m going through a similar situation,’ or ‘I can relate,’ or ‘I have a family member that’s going through the same things.’ That’s what it’s all about. That’s just as good a feeling as when I’m pitching and getting a win.”
Gooden won 157 regular-season games in 11 seasons with the Mets and was a World Series champion in 1986. He threw a no-hitter in 1996 for the Yankees and was part of the 1996 and 2000 Yankees World Series championship teams. He finished his 16-year career across five teams with a 194-112 record, a 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts. But his heart and identity will always be in Flushing.
Gooden was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010, but with Cohen increasing the celebration of the team’s history, long-overdue number retirement ceremonies have been picking up in recent seasons.
Gooden said he hadn’t been sure if and when his jersey would head up to the Citi Field rafters.
“Oh, man,” he said. “It was a great deal because you think that it may happen, but you’re not sure. Obviously, I feel like what I did on the field could have been enough, but that’s up to the team. But the problems I had off the field, so many times, so many relapses, you think you did too much damage and it may not happen. When I got the call, when Steve started talking to me, I thought, ‘This can’t be real.’ ”
It is, and the way Gooden looks at it, this is the right time in his life.
“For the first time, I can really enjoy this and be proud of what I am today at this stage of my life,” Gooden said. “I’m healthy, I have a great relationship with my kids and grandkids, and I can enjoy it now with a clear mind. During my career, even the best years I had, even winning the World Series, I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I enjoyed it for a long time. I enjoyed it at the moment, I enjoyed it for a week or during the parade, but longterm I hadn’t enjoyed it.”
Along with his hospital and school appearances — most of which are not publicized — Gooden is scheduled on April 9 to appear with veteran baseball journalist Ed Randall at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City for a meet-and-greet that will benefit the museum. Tickets are available at www.cradleofaviation.org.
Gooden said when he meets Mets fans, the talk isn’t always about baseball.
“It’s 50-50,” he said. “I get baseball questions — ‘Oh, man, it was great watching you play, you brought a lot of joy to my family’ — and the other half is, ‘Hey, how are you doing? How’s everything? How’s your health? How’s your recovery going?’ That’s a great feeling.”
Gooden said that when he visits a school or a children’s hospital, the kids may not know who “Dr. K” is other than a former baseball player.
“The counselors and some of the teachers and the principal may know,” Gooden said. “But what I do normally is I start out talking about baseball to get their attention and then I’ll switch it to life issues. Talk about mental health, obviously talk about addiction. To let them know it’s real, it’s very serious. Make them aware.”
Gooden and Strawberry will always be linked, both because of their Mets and Yankees careers and the struggles that plagued them.
Last August, in a statement, Cohen said: “I’m thrilled that two iconic members of the 1986 championship club will have their numbers retired in 2024. Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden each had an enormous impact on our franchise and it’s my honor to continue our commitment to celebrating our wonderful history.”
Strawberry, 62, will not be able to attend Gooden’s ceremony as he is recovering in his St. Louis-area home from a heart attack he suffered on March 11.
Strawberry’s current path as a traveling preacher is similar to what Gooden is trying to build with his giving-back appearances.
“We had similar careers,” Gooden said. “I’m very proud of the man he’s become, the lives he touches, doing what he’s doing.”
Reminiscing about Mets glory days will be part of the speech Gooden is going to make on April 14. He’s practicing now and is trying to keep the “goosebumps” at bay.
The most important thing he wants to say on that day?
“I want to get in front of the fans one more time,” Gooden said. “To let them know what they mean to me.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
