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New York Mets: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore

By Chris Timoney

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 15: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Former New York Met and baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza attends the Tom Seaver statue unveiling ceremony before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on April 15, 2022 in New York City. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The Mets defeated the Diamondbacks 10-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 15: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Former New York Met and baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza attends the Tom Seaver statue unveiling ceremony before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on April 15, 2022 in New York City. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The Mets defeated the Diamondbacks 10-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK – CIRCA 1987: Dwight Gooden #16 of the New York Mets pitches during a Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Gooden played for the Mets from 1984-94. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW YORK – CIRCA 1987: Dwight Gooden #16 of the New York Mets pitches during a Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Shea Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. Gooden played for the Mets from 1984-94. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Dwight “Doc” Gooden, Pitcher 1984-1994

Just when baseballs fans thought there couldn’t be anything more “electric” on the mound than Fernando Valenzuela, in walked Dwight Gooden and, man, did he turn up the voltage.

Doc Gooden, as he became to be known as, was probably the perfect pitcher for the mid-80s. His performances on the mound from 1984-1990 were must-see-TV. Footage of his games between ’84-’86 would have easily broken today’s modern internet. Gooden was the brightest of shooting stars. Much like his predecessor Seaver, he alone outshone the team up in The Bronx that was between dynasties.

Gooden earned the win in his first start in the majors; a five-inning, five-strikeouts, one-earned run outing in Houston. A few weeks later in Montreal, Gooden exploded for 10 strikeouts in seven innings in Montreal and he and the Mets never looked back. The ’84 Mets went on to win 90 games for the first time since the summer of ’69 and Gooden won Rookie of the Year honors, made his first of three consecutive All-Star appearances and finished second to Rick Sutlcliffe in NL Cy Young voting. As a 19-year-old rookie, Gooden led the entire league in strikeouts with 276, hits per 9 innings (6.6), WHIP (1.073) and Ks/9 (11.4). Doc would lead the league in strikeouts (268) again the following season on his way to capturing the Cy Young award as the ace of the surging Mets. In his Cy Young season, Gooden also led the majors in wins (24) and ERA (1.53) while tossing eight shutouts over 16 complete games. Gooden’s World Series season of ’86 almost paled in comparison to his first two seasons in Queens as he “only” threw 12 complete games, going 17-6 with an ERA of 2.84 with 200 strikeouts.

Gooden continued to delight crowds at Shea Stadium through the ’94 season before leaving the game in ’95 and then returning as a Yankee in 1996. Gooden would never capture another Cy Young award, but was in the mix in ’86, ’87 and ’90. Doc did win a Silver Slugger award in 1992 when he batted .264 for the Mets. On the all-time Mets list, Gooden only trails Tom Seaver in strikeouts and wins.

Dwight Gooden was a kid lifting millions of Mets fans to new heights during truly unique times. When you think about sports in the 80s, you not only think of the Mets, but you vividly recall the excitement when Dwight Gooden was on the mound.

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