Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411080023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Gooden, who will turn 30 in two weeks, already had been suspended once this year - for 60 days on June28 after testing positive for drugs. He underwent treatment at the Betty Ford Center from July22 to Aug.14, but tested positive again.
``Dwight Gooden needs to get his life in order,'' Mets general manager Joe McIlvaine said.
Gooden, the NL Rookie of the Year in 1984 and the NL Cy Young Award winner the following year with a 24-4 record, led the Mets to the World Series title in 1986. But less than six months later, he admitted he had a cocaine problem and voluntarily entered a treatment center in April 1987.
``The bottom line is he's going to have to rid himself of the problem. That's it. There's no maybe or fine line,'' said Gooden's agent, Jim Neader.
Neader met with the pitcher for about an hour Friday on the front steps of Gooden's home in St. Petersburg, Fla. Gooden chose not to speak publicly Friday, but probably will make a statement next week, Neader said.
``He's determined to beat it and get back to 100 percent health,'' Neader said. ``And when that is achieved, then we'll think about baseball.''
Gooden, a Cy Young winner by age 20, has been a larger-than-life figure in New York. A multistory portrait of him on the mound is painted on the side of a building in midtown Manhattan, visible to all exiting the Lincoln Tunnel.
The last Met remaining from 1986 championship team, Gooden technically severed his ties on Oct.24 when he filed for free agency after completing his $15.45 million, three-year contract.
McIlvaine, who has spoken with Neader about re-signing the right-hander, had only one message to send on Friday: Get help.
``He has been offered the best assistance baseball and the New York Mets have to give for his problem and has not taken advantage of this guidance and help,'' said McIlvaine, who picked Gooden in the first round of the 1982 draft. ``All of us who love this man urge him to get the help he needs, put God into his life and exhibit the same tenacity he showed on the mound, especially in the early years of his career when a lead in the seventh inning meant a victory in the ninth.
``Dwight,'' McIlvaine said, ``needs to demonstrate that same degree of competitiveness to defeat a far more insidious enemy that is sucking the life out of him both personally and professionally.''
Baseball's ruling executive council, acting in the absence of a commissioner, ratified the suspension Friday during a telephone conference call. Milwaukee Brewers owner Bud Selig, the acting commissioner, made the decision, management lawyers said.
When he arrived at Shea Stadium, Gooden drew huge crowds of fans who came to see his crackling fastball and sharp-breaking curve.
As a 19-year-old rookie in 1984, he was 17-9 with 276 strikeouts in only 218 innings. It was then that he earned the nickname ``Dr. K'' as adoring fans hung ``K'' placards in the stands after each Gooden strikeout.
After helping lead the Mets past the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, Gooden won 15 or more games in four of the next five seasons. But he dropped to 13-7 in 1991, and hasn't been back to .500 since.
He is 154-81 with a 3.04 ERA in 11 major-league seasons, but is just 25-32 since 1991. He was 3-4 with a 6.31 ERA in seven starts this year.
by CNB