Former New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden was arrested for cocaine possession on June 7 according to the New York Post. The Post has learned that Gooden was pulled over on the Garden State Parkway in Holmdel for driving too slow and not maintaining his lane. Upon inspection of his vehicle, police found “two small green zip-lock style plastic baggies containing suspected cocaine,” according to the Monmouth County prosecutors office.
Gooden, 54, was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also ticketed for driving under the influence.
The 1985 Cy Young award winner has a lengthy history of drug addiction which has unfortunately overshadowed his baseball exploits. In 1986, he missed the Mets World Championship parade due to drug use. He then missed the start of the 1987 season in order to undergo treatment for substance abuse at a rehabilitation center.
After violating his drug aftercare program in 1994, Gooden was suspended for the entire 1995 baseball season.
In 2006, Gooden spent eight months in jail for violating probation when he showed up high on cocaine to a meeting with his probation officer. Then in 2010, he was arrested in Franklin Lakes, NJ after crashing his car while driving his five-year old son to school. It was determined that he had been driving under the influence.
Gooden played for the Mets from 1984-1994. Along with his Cy Young award, he was Rookie-of-the-Year in 1984 and four-time All-Star. He pitched a no-hitter as a member of the Yankees in 1996. Overall, Gooden was 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA across 16 seasons in the Major Leagues. He retired in 2001.
All of us here at MMO hope for the best for the former Mets superstar. Drug addiction is a disease that is sometimes hard to fight. We wish him only the best in finding a permanent cure.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
