20
2011
Doc Gooden Missed 1986 Parade Because He Was In A Cocaine Haze
An article by 
Recently Doc Gooden sat down with ESPN E:60 to discuss his career and life around Baseball. In the interview Gooden admitted to being “too high” to make it to the 1986 World Championship parade in New York City. He discussed his addiction to Cocaine during the illustrious 86′ season as well as the “paranoia” that would set in from his drug use.
Gooden told E:60 that the night the Mets won the World Series he and many of his teammates ended up at a well known Long Island club. The following day he found himself in the Long Island projects and was still so high from his cocaine binge that he forgot to go to the parade. He says he planned to go, however he lost track of time because he was on a haze and before he knew it he was watching the parade on television. Sad indeed if only he there were sites like http://drugabuse.net back then, where young players could learn about the dangers of drug abuse.
He claims that the house he watched the parade from belonged to his drug dealer. In the interview he goes into detail about his rampant drug use and struggles while he was a player.
For years the common story was that Gooden overslept and missed the parade. However, he admitted that it was a PR cover-up. Looking back on it, he says knowing that he missed the parade because of the drug abuse is “a horrible feeling.”
About the Author: Benjamin Yoel
Graduate of St. John's University. Majored in Sports Management. Torn on where career will take me next. Considering Baseball Operations, Scouting, and Journalism. Writer for Metsmerized Online & StLucieToFlushing.com. Devout #Mets fan.
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i saw this story, it was really sad to hear.. this guy had all the talent on the world, and had not been for his drugs usage, he’d have gone down as the greatest met of all time.. and i mean the greatest, on top of seaver and everybody else..
from 1984 to 1991 the man was 132-53, a 714 winning pct, that is INSANE!! during those years including the 1989 injury season ,the man avg per year 214 innings and 221 k’s per year.. that was PURE DOMINANCE man..
to me as a met fan, is the saddest story for a baseball player i’ve ever seen.. i am sure there’s others, but with gooden to me was different because i am sure he was lots of ppl fav met.
note worthy, i found out that in 9 starts in the playoffs, even with us, DOC GOODEN never won a playoff game.. i was shocked to say the least..
ALEX, UNFORTUNATELY I DOUBT U ARE OLD ENOUGH TO TRULY APPRECIATE THE TOM SEAVER WHO PUT UP A REMARKABLE 191-143 RECORD FOR A TEAM MIRED WITH AN ABYSMAL 878-903 RECORD DURING THE SAME PERIOD. WHILE, DOC FOR ALL HIS GREATNESS(157-85 AS A NYM) PITCHED FOR NYM TEAMS AMASSING A 998-876 RECORD. WHILE FOR THE PROPONDERANCE OF SEAVER’S NYM CAREER A 100 RBI TALLY REQUIRED 2 OR 3 PLAYER TOTALS AS STAUB’S SURPASSING 100 RBI IN ’73 WAS A NYM FIRST TIME ACCOMPLISHMENT BY ANYONE! BACK IN THE DAY IT WAS TRYPICAL FOR AT LEAST 1 OF THE SUNDAY SCHEDULED DHs TO FEATURE AN ACE Vs ACE CONTEST WHEREBY MORE OFTEN THAN NOT SEAVER & HIS HAPLESS SUPPORT FACED EITHER CARLTON,GIBSON,DRYDALE OR JENKINS. WHILE U WERE BEING BLINDED BY DOC’S SUPERLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS U SEEMED TO HAVE GLOSSED OVER SEAVER’S ESTABLIUSHING THE MARK FOR SUCCESSIVE 200K SEASONS(9) INTERRUPTED BY A 196K EFFORT IN ’77. “TERRIFIC” WASN’T JUST A ‘CATCHY’ MONIKER IT WAS POSSIBLY THE MOST APT DESCRIPTIVE EVER APPLIED TO A MLB PLAYER. HE DIDN’T GARNER THE HIGHEST % OF FIRST PLACE BALLOTS DUE TO SENTIMENTALITY., SURPASSING RUTH,GEHRIG,WILLIAMS et al.
THOUGH I ACKNOWLEDGE A DIFFERNT GENRE OF GAME STATEGY IN PLACE ONE VIGNET OF HIS TERRIFICNESS OCCURED DURING THE RELATIVELY INSIGNIFICANT 1971 CAPAIGN WHEREBY SEAVER ACCOUNTED FOR A 20-10 PERSONAL RECORD CONTRIBUTING 21 CGs. BTW THEY ARE STILL ESTIMATING HOW MANY SUCCESIVE PODS HE WOULD HAVE STRUCKOUT HAD HE NOT RUN OUT OF GAME TO BE PLAYED.
ALL OF THOSE CREDENTIALS EMBOLDEN & ITALICIZE YOUR “PURE DOMINANCE” WITH A DOUBLE UNDERSCORE. ALEX, TRUST ME, U HAD TO BE THERE TO APPRECIATE4 HIM. SEAVER EPITOMIZED THE PHRASE,”GET HIM EARLY OR DON’T GET HIM AT ALL” AS ANY GAME IN WHICH HE PASSED THE SECOND INNING UNSCATHED WAS GOING TO BE A TREAT PROMISING TO THREATEN THAT NEVER ACHIEVED GOAL OF EVERY NYM PITCHER EVER TO TOE THE RUBBER IN FLUSHING.
AS A MAJOR LEAGUE SP OVER A 20 YR SPAN SEAVER ONLY FAILED TO TALLY 30GS IN 4 LATE CAREER SEASONS(’80.’81,’82,’86) AMASSING 3,640 Ks IN 4,783 IP WHILE ALLOWING A MERE 1,571 ER PITCHING MOSTLY FOR DISMALLY INEFFECTUAL TEAMS GETTING MINIMAL RUN SUPPORT.
THE DEFINITION OF CARRYING ONE’S TEAM ON YOUR BACK! NO SCANDALS, BTW AMASSED ALL THOSE CONSEC #s WHILE FULFILLING HIS MARINE CORPS RESERVIST RESPONSIBILITIES DURING THE VIETNAM ERA. OMG!
ALEX, DOC WAS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE GREATEST I’VE SEEN; BUT HE WAS NEVER A SEAVER! SORRY.
BTW, ALEX, LIKE DOC, SEAVER WAS THE LONE WINLESS STARTER FOR UN IN THE WS.
DOC HAS, AS I RECALL, 2 TARGETS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO HIS WINLESS POSTSEASON RECORD TUFFEL & SCOSIA
Proofread. Lots of grammatical errors.
This coming from someone who just posted a fragment sentence…..
Watching the parade that day, looking for Doc – not seeing Doc…..I knew then it had something to do with partying too hard the night before. Little did I know it was the beginning of the end for him. Had Opening Day tickets for ’87, couldn’t wait to see Doc pitch, couldn’t wait for the season to begin with what was surely a dynasty in the making. Little did I know.
Doc, in those early years, was something really special.
Best pitcher we saw day to day in NY. Career wise I would take Bob Gibson for a game to win.
theory, i watch bob gibson for a bit so don’t know much, but one thing i’ll tell you, watching film and everything on bob, the BEST POST GAME pitcher EVER… in 9 caeer start he went 7-2 1.88 and threw 8 CG, 82 innings and 93 k’s… that, is INSANE!!!
Today’s pitching pantywaists can’t do any of that.
AS WITH CARLTON, I’D LOVE TO SEE GIBBY’S RECORD AGAINST US, ALONE. I KNOW CARLTON’S IS A LOSING RECORD; I DO NOT BE;LIEVE GIBSON’S IS DOMINANT, I RECALL IT BARELY BEING ABOVE .500. SEE SEAVER DISCOURSE AS TO REASON FOR BOTH UNLIKLIHOODS.
Doc and Darryl are the losers in life. Sad. They made terrible personal choices.
Darryl seems to have his act together now. Then again, we never really see behind the image.
Straw seems to have turned his life around late in life. Maybe it was his brush with death because of his battle with cancer. Doc never has gotten it together again. Like many drug addicts he continually falls back on bad habits and gets arrested again and again. The tale of two drug addicts.
I saw this hit the wires yesterday and my 1st thought was “why is this news?” Because I could have sworn I had heard this several months back already no?
It must not be a new thing because when I read it, I wasn’t surprised etc. I know I heard this somewhere sometime. Didn’t he say it on Boomer & Carton maybe?
I think this is one of those things that everybody just assumed, but it was never actually “confirmed” before now.
I knew I wasn’t crazy!
http://metspolice.com/2011/05/24/gooden-was-in-the-projects-during-the-1986-mets-parade/
“Dwight Gooden was amazingly honest on the radio this morning…will post more when I can..but he was open about his drug use and said he would buy cocaine in “the projects” and that during the 1986 Tickertape parade he was in projects somewhere on Long Island on a cocaine run.”
May 24, 2011
This was known way back when it first came out about his problems.
Yes – I saw on Twitter yesterday WFAN had him on months ago and it was discussed, they were pissed that ESPN made it seem like they were exclusive.
JESS, AS I RECALL ‘MEX’ NEARLY MISSED IT ALSO REQUIRING SOME STOUT FAN “SUPPORT” OVER THE CHAINED LINKS (LOL)
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.