Meet Mets pitching legend Dwight Gooden

DC Mets is thrilled and proud to announce that we will host Cy Young Award winner, 4x All-Star, and member of the World Champion 1986 Mets, Dwight “Dr. K” Gooden. The Doctor is going to join us for our second Takeover of Gnats Park for the 2021 season on Monday, June 28, 2021 at 5:00 PM EDT at The Bullpen, right outside the ballpark, for our usual pregame festivities. There, you can get an autograph from Doc and have your picture taken with the Mets pitching legend. After the meet and greet, Doc will join us inside the the stadium for an inning or two to watch our first-place New York Mets swat the very sad and lowly fourth-place Gnats.

All proceeds from this event will go to our beloved fellow DC Mets members Paul & Rachel Salinas and their two young sons as they continue their courageous fight against Paul’s stage four pancreatic cancer.

This is a private event and you must purchase a bracelet to participate (details below). We will have markers, baseballs, T-shirts, and pictures of Doc all available purchase.

The Bullpen is conveniently located at 1201 Half St SE, directly across the street from the Navy Yard – Ballpark Metro station and just outside the Center Field Gate. We’ve arranged for special pricing on beverages for those in attendance.

Dwight Gooden

Doc Gooden was drafted out of high school in Tampa, Florida in 1982, where he was chosen ninth overall in the first round. He spent just one season in the minors and made his major league debut with the Mets on April 7, 1984 at the age of 19.

On July 10 of that year, he became the youngest player ever to appear in an All-Star Game when he took the mound in the fifth inning and struck out the side.

That year, Gooden won 17 games, the most by a 19-year old since 1964 and the second most by a rookie in Mets history, behind Jerry Koosman’s 19 wins in 1968. He was elected the 1984 National League Rookie of the Year, becoming the third Mets pitcher to receive that honor, along with Tom Seaver and Jon Matlack. It was also the second consecutive year a Met won Rookie of the Year. Slugger Darryl Strawberry won it in 1983. Doc finished second for the National League Cy Young Award, despite having a lower ERA, more wins, more strikeouts, and more innings pitched than that year’s winner, Rick Sutcliffe of the Chicago Cubs.

The following year, Dwight went on to have one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history. He earned the Pitching Triple Crown, leading Major League Baseball with 24 wins, 268 strikeouts, and a 1.53 ERA. He earned the 1985 National League Cy Young Award and Pitcher of the Year award, becoming the youngest player ever to receive those honors.

In 1986, Doc had a 17-6 record with 200 strikeouts. and was a key contributor to the Mets’ 1986 World Champion team. He went on to play 16 seasons in the major leagues, 11 of them with the Mets.

Dwight Gooden was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame on August 1, 2010.

Ticket Information

Tickets are $60 each and include admission to the see the Mets play the Gnats at 7:10 PM. If you don’t want to attend the game, you can purchase a ticket for only the meet and greet with Doc for $40. You can pay using either Venmo or PayPal.

To pay using Venmo, send a payment of $60 for each ticket to joe-salinas-4 (last 4 digits 8147). In the comment section, please be sure to put “Doc” and/or the date of the game (6/21/21).

If PayPal is more convenient, you can send payment to jsalinas75@gmail.com and choose “friends and family” option. Don’t forget to leave your name leave your name in the comments section, along with the date of the game (6/21/21).

Mets Fun Fact

Doc Gooden earned a Silver Slugger Award with the Mets in 1992, batting .264 in 77 plate appearances, with one home run and nine RBIs.