As a 46 year-old from Brooklyn, my family comes from the tradition of the Brooklyn Dodgers with my uncles – and even my mother to a certain extent – backing those boys from Flatbush up until they left in 1957.
With that my family’s attention turned to their spiritual successor the New York Mets. Since I was the youngest of my generation and born in 1970, I was only six years old when the Amazin’s had their last winning season before those lean years under manager Joe Torre.
But I stuck with them, as they were the only team I knew.
However in 1984, something changed. The Mets suddenly became one of the best teams in baseball and backed by the young arm of a 19 year-old from Tampa named Dwight Gooden. Doc, as he liked to be called, was a new generation’s Tom Seaver. His motion was graceful and his fastball and curveball combination made even the best hitters in baseball look bad.
In the 1980s, Gooden was one of my favorite Mets. He was our ace, where you knew the Mets were going to win when he was on the mound.
Doc played 10 years for the Mets and then went onto the Yankees where he threw the only no-hitter of his career.
Whenever, I get a chance to talk about Gooden, it brings a smile to my face.
So, now as we close 2016, it’s my great pleasure to announce that Dwight Gooden is joining the staff of NY Sports Day as a special columnist. He will be writing about his memories in baseball, today’s game, and even give some football and basketball analysis from time to time.
We welcome Doc to our staff and hope you enjoy his first column he penned today.
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