Dwight Gooden – Star Pitcher

Dwight Eugene “Doc” Gooden (born November 16, 1964), was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball. His statistics show that he pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In a career spanning 430 games, he pitched ​2,8002⁄3 innings and posted a win–loss record of 194–112, with a 3.51 earned run average and 2,293 strikeouts.

As a 19-year-old rookie, he earned the first of four All-Star selections, won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and led the league in strikeouts. In 1985, he won the Cy Young Award and achieved the pitching Triple Crown by compiling a 24–4 record and a league-leading 1.53 Earned Run Average, 268 strikeouts, and 16 complete games. The following season, he helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series. 

Sadly, his career was ultimately derailed by cocaine and alcohol addiction. After posting a losing record in each season from 1992 to 1994, Gooden was suspended for the 1995 season after a positive drug test while serving a prior suspension. In spite of losing performances in his last 4 years as a pitcher, Gooden was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2010.

Gooden’s troubles with addiction continued after his retirement from baseball and resulted in several arrests. He was incarcerated for seven months in 2006 after violating the terms of his probation. Gooden’s accomplishments are enviable, but if all I have is fleeting, transient fame on earth what good will that be when I meet God? There is a permanent, rewarding and enjoyable benefit from living in harmony with God’s plan, even if we struggle to maintain that.

Mark 8:36  “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” 

 

 

Henry Wiebe