Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden reflected on their wasted lives and realized how much more impressive their star-studded achievements could have been if they hadn’t given in to the drugs and booze that destroyed their careers.
The day the New York Mets announced that they would retire Strawberry’s No. 18 on June 1 and Gooden’s No. 16 on April 14 was also the day the two held a Zoom news conference where they openedly discussed how their inability to turn down the fame and money that followed the daring Mets’ 1986 World Series victory led to jail time and a series of suspensions that may have prevented them from being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“We were mentally crazy at the time, so we needed a lot help,” Strawberry said Wednesday. “We could have used every doctor and every psychiatrist – they probably would have ran away from us every time because we were so young and so focused on what it was like to be on the field and doing what we was doing on the field and we was not taking care of ourselves.”
Eight times an All-Star, Strawberry, 61, was, seven of those seasons were spent with the Mets (1983–1990). In 17 seasons, he hit.259 with 335 home runs, 1,000 RBIs, and 221 stolen bases.
“My heart and soul bleed blue and orange,” Strawberry said of the Mets colors. “Always have. Always will.”
He advised Pete Alonso, the outstanding first baseman who can become a free agent in the autumn, to stay with the team instead of signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 1991 season, as Strawberry did.
“I just hope Pete doesn’t leave because I ended up personally with a bellyful of regrets for leaving because there is nothing like playing in New York. There is nothing like the atmosphere. There is nothing like the fans. There is nothing like being booed and fans letting you know when you suck,” Strawberry said.
Gooden, 59, won the 1985 NL Cy Young Award and the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year while playing with the Mets from 1984 to 1994. He was a four-time All-Star. Over 16 seasons, he was 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA and 2,293 strikeouts.
“I remember at times literally crying, going to get drugs, crying to go buy alcohol. That’s a problem. That’s a mental problem,” Gooden said, recalling his last descent in 2019. “Last time, instead of going to rehab, I put myself into a mental hospital.”
For the Mets, Gooden was 157-85 with a 3.10 ERA and 1,875 strikeouts, while Strawberry had a big hit.263 with 733 RBIs, 191 steals, and 252 home runs for New York.
“I was never well. Had I been well, what could I have done?” Strawberry said. “When I was young, I thought this was going to go on forever, I’m going to be hitting home runs forever.”
When Gooden expressed his desire to rejoin the Mets for the 1998 and 2000 seasons, Mets general manager Steve Phillips reportedly turned him down.
“Their fans will always be special to me. They cared about me and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and gave me hope to go on,” Gooden said. “That’s something that you don´t forget.”
Strawberry compared his upbringing to that of Derek Jeter, the captain of the Yankees and a teammate from 1995 to 1999.
“You look at a lot of guys that played in New York that was young, like Jete, but he had a great family and I admire that because that helped him get through life better with the expectations and the pressures of playing. When you don´t have anybody, it´s very challenging for you to make the right decisions.”
Mets players were celebrated in the bars and nightclubs of 1980s New York.
“Did we get safeguarded when we were planning in New York at a young age? Probably not. I don´t think so. Everything was wide open,” Strawberry said. “Twenty-one years old, running into Manhattan, I don´t think that was a good idea. I don´t think that was a good lifestyle for me. I got kind of corrupted in that lifestyle and I kick myself for that.”
“I could have stayed on track and followed what Gary Carter and Mookie Wilson was living,” he added, “I probably would´ve ended up one heck of a ballplayer in Queens for the rest of my career.”
Nos. 14 (Gil Hodges, 1973), 17 (Keith Hernandez, 2022), 24 (Willie Mays, 2022), 31 (Mike Piazza, 2016), 36 (Jerry Koosman, 2021), 37 (Casey Stengel, 1965), and 41 (Tom Seaver, 1988) were among the numbers that New York previously retired. Furthermore, Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 in 1997.
Strawberry and Gooden’s problems occasionally caused a strained relationship and mutual criticism.
“You´re talking about two young Black, African-Americans playing in New York, stars, and everything handed to you. You go to Manhattan, you get everything handed to you. You get free clothes, You get free this – how do you suppose to respond to that when you´re young?” Strawberry said. “The animosity wasn´t about not loving and caring for Doc. I always have. He´s always been a knucklehead, and I´ve always been a knucklehead. He knows that. We both know that for each other.”