In the mid-1980s, Dwight “Doc” Gooden was the toast of the town in the Big Apple. The 19-year old had burst on to the New York scene in 1984 as the runaway Rookie of the Year in the National League. A year later, he followed it up with one of the most dominant performances in baseball history. A 24-4 (.857) record, 1.53 ERA, 16 complete games, 268 strikeouts in 276.2 innings, and a 12.2 WAR.
Gooden won the 1985 NL Cy Young Award and finished fourth in the senior circuit’s MVP voting.
But, things were beginning to fall apart, emotionally and mentally for the New York Mets’ ace.