When Dwight Gooden was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1984, and then won the Cy Young Award in 1985, the baseball world was already putting his name as an inevitable lock for Cooperstown.
Gooden's first three seasons in baseball were storybook - in 1986, he was the ace of the World Series champs.
The Mets and Steve Cohen have celebrated the franchise's history more recently, retiring Jerry Koosman's No. 36 last year, and Keith Hernandez's No. 17 this past weekend. Now, fans can't help but wonder who's next.
And a potential candidate is the controversial Gooden.
“That’s a tough question for me, personally. I don’t know. I don’t know. I guess it depends on how you really look it. I thought for as a player for what I did on the field, I’ll probably say yes," Gooden told Peter Rosenberg and Don La Greca on ESPN New York's The Michael Kay Show.
But drug problems and injuries not only derailed his career, they also cut a potential Mets' dynasty short.
"Obviously I had my troubles off the field, so with that, obviously [it shouldn't be retired]," Doc said. "So I don’t know, if you take that into consideration on how to do really do it. That’s definitely up to Mr. Cohen and his committee. I don’t know. I don’t know how you go about that – I’m not really sure.”
Gooden has stayed out of trouble for roughly three years now, and he understands the fact that plenty of Mets fans don't want No. 16 hanging in the Citi Field rafters. But selfishly, he would like the organization and fans to see Gooden for who he is now.
“I get it. Everybody’s entitled to their opinions," Gooden said. "I had my problems. I felt probably worse than they did for the problems I caused off the field, the problems I caused my family, my fans, my loved ones. At the same time, I don’t think I deserve a life sentence for the problems I had…. But I totally get it.”
Gooden, who no matter how you slice it, is a top-five pitcher in Mets history. In 11 seasons with the Mets, he won 157 games and pitched to a 3.10 ERA. Among starters to throw 1,000-plus innings with the Mets, he ranks second in wins and strikeouts (behind Tom Seaver), third in K/BB and FIP, fourth in WHIP and K/9, and fifth in ERA.