Like Father, Like Son...

[Ksyrup]

TAMPA, Fla. -- The teenage son of former major league pitcher Dwight Gooden was arrested after he allegedly sold crack cocaine to undercover deputies, according to a newspaper report.

Dwight Gooden Jr., 17, was arrested Wednesday after he and 19-year-old Kendon Davis sold 2.4 grams crack cocaine to undercover deputies, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Lt. Rod Reder told the Tampa Tribune. The amount was valued at $200. He was charged with possession and delivery of crack cocaine.

After his arrest Gooden was taken to a juvenile detention center, Reder said.

The elder Gooden retired in 2001, ending his major league career with a 194-112 record and a 3.51 ERA.

He was suspended for 60 days in June 1994 for testing positive for cocaine while with the Mets. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season.

He played 11 seasons with the New York Mets, becoming the youngest Cy Young Award winner in 1985 at age 20 and pitching for a World Series championship team a year later. In 1996, he pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees. He struck out 2,293 in 2,800 2-3 innings over his career.

[WSUCougar]

I tend to think of Dwight Gooden as one of the best (or worst) examples of incredible athletic talent being frittered away. What a travesty.

[Blade6119]

what about lawrence phillips...he had a lot of talent, but couldnt stop breakig the law...

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by WSUCougar
I tend to think of Dwight Gooden as one of the best (or worst) examples of incredible athletic talent being frittered away. What a travesty.

Yep. He and Clemens could be finishing out their careers together as 300 game winners. And given George's knack for signing older pitchers, they probably would have been on the same staff!

[oykib]

It's a common misconception that Gooden's off the field problems, particularly with drugs, caused his decline. The truth is he had the arm problems that you'd expect from a guy who pitched 500 innings of major league baseball at the ages of 19 and 20.

He began declining almost immediately after his record setting season. He began having shoulder trouble the season after it. He was having surgery within two years of it.

Because he served his suspension at the beginning of the '86 season, the same season that started his decline, everyone points to it the drug problems as the cause.

[Ksyrup]

He pitched well through 1993, and then made a decent comeback starting in 1996 (although he was nothing like he had been before). He maintained a solid 2/1 KK/BB ratio through 1993. Arm problems might have done him in, but the drug use was certainly a part of it.

[GrantDawg]

Has his son been approached by the Yankees yet?

[FBPro]

Originally posted by GrantDawg
Has his son been approached by the Yankees yet?

Yeah, I think they have dispatched Steve Howe to sign him......

[Ksyrup]

This is the REAL reason the Yankees have offices in both NY and Tampa.

[oykib]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
He pitched well through 1993, and then made a decent comeback starting in 1996 (although he was nothing like he had been before). He maintained a solid 2/1 KK/BB ratio through 1993. Arm problems might have done him in, but the drug use was certainly a part of it.

My point is he went from all-time great to elite pitcher to very good based on arm trouble. If you say that he could have been a decent number #2 or great #3 starter today if not for his off-the-field problems, I won't argue with you.

But there is no way he could have had the sustained performance rivaling Clemens that was mentioned earlier in the thread. Clemens was not abused through his teenage years the way Doc was. Those two great seasons at the beginning of Gooden's career totally ruined him as far as being an all-time great. He may have done the rest to himself. He got to 100 wins so quickly that he still would've made 250 or 300 wins as a somewhat above average pitcher if not for his problems.

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by oykib
He got to 100 wins so quickly that he still would've made 250 or 300 wins as a somewhat above average pitcher if not for his problems.

That's my point. They both would have been 300 game winners, more than likely. Gooden wouldn't have needed to win 20 games every year to do that. And 300 wins, of course, would have gotten him into the HoF, even if he was a lesser pitcher than Clemens was.

[Leonidas]

Originally posted by oykib
It's a common misconception that Gooden's off the field problems, particularly with drugs, caused his decline. The truth is he had the arm problems that you'd expect from a guy who pitched 500 innings of major league baseball at the ages of 19 and 20.

He began declining almost immediately after his record setting season. He began having shoulder trouble the season after it. He was having surgery within two years of it.

Because he served his suspension at the beginning of the '86 season, the same season that started his decline, everyone points to it the drug problems as the cause.

I agree and disagree. Yes, he was overworked when he was young and developed arm problems. But, drug and alcohol abuse most certainly impact your physical conditioning and I personally think there is also a link between substance abuse and a degradation of the body's natural recuperative powers. It's only a theory, but I think it's quite possible his substance abuse problem contributed to his inability to recover from the arm problems. The body recovers much more quickly when it is in peak condition. You cannot be in peak condition with a drug problem.