What would the prospect time machine would be if we didn’t go back and look at one of the best pitchers the Mets have ever produced? This week’s article will shed the spotlight on former Mets ace and 1986 Wold Series champion, Dwight Gooden.

A native of Tampa, Florida, the Mets selected Gooden with the fifth overall pick of the 1982 draft out of Hillsborough High School. The flame-throwing right-hander didn’t have a very long minor league career before New York felt it was time for him to take over the mound at Shea Stadium. Without any college experience, it took Doc just 269.2 innings pitched (38 starts) over a span of two seasons on the farm before he got promoted to the big leagues in 1984. He would appear in the minors again in 1987 and 1994, but those weren’t needed to prepare him for the greatness he achieved in Orange and Blue.

Upon signing with the organization, Gooden was sent to Kingsport to get his feet wet in Rookie Ball. He was 17-years-old at the time, but he didn’t pitch like one. In nine starts with the K-Mets, Doc put together a 5-4 record, 2.47 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts in 65.2 innings pitched.

That solid performance earned him a late season promotion to the NYPL with Little Falls. He only threw 13 innings in two starts, going 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA, but the combination of his upper-90s fastball and big curve ball gave him 18 strikeouts during that time.

The 1983 season brought the pitching prospect to Single-A with Lynchburg in the Carolina League, and he didn’t disappoint. The future ace of the Mets staff was completely dominant; he compiled a 19-4 record, 2.50 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 300 strikeouts in 191 innings pitched. The only blemish in his stat line was the 112 walks he allowed. Thankfully, his stuff was usually tough to hit, and only 121 base hits were collected on his watch all season.

At the tender age of 19, he made his MLB debut on April 7th, 1984, which would be his first of 11 years with the organization in the bigs. It was a good start to his career; he kicked things off by winning the NL Rookie of the Year in ’84, followed by capturing the pitching triple crown (24 wins, 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts) and the NL Cy Young Award in ’85.

Last, but certainly not least, he was a part of the 1986 World Championship team. He went 0-3 in that postseason (two losses against the Red Sox in the World Series), but he put together a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings pitched against the Astros in the NLCS.

He was the rock of the rotation for the first five years of his career, winning at least 15 games in each of those seasons. The 1989 season was shortened because of injury, and Doc was only able to put together a 9-4 record. He returned to form in ’90 and ’91, winning 19 and 13 games, respectively. He experienced his first losing record in 1992 (10-13), followed by another one in 1993 (12-15).

Gooden’s addiction issues finally caught up with him in 1994; he tested positive for cocaine and was suspended for 60 days during the strike-shortened season. He tested positive again during his suspension, which led to his punishment getting extended for all of 1995. That ended his Mets career on a very sour note, as he would never don the Orange and Blue as a player again.

His time with the Mets was his best as a major leaguer; in 2,169.2 innings pitched, Doc went 157-85 with a 3.10 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 1.875 strikeouts.

Although his time with the organization didn’t end well as a player, Gooden exceeded expectations for most of his 11 seasons in Flushing. It’s also nice to see him become a fixture at Citi Field with the next wave of great pitching making it’s mark in Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler.

Thanks for all the good times, Doc. You truly embodied what an ace should be on the pitcher’s mound.