NSBB HOF Ballot- Dwight Gooden

DWIGHT GOODEN: 1st year on the ballot…Pitched 16 seasons…Named 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner capturing pitching’s “Triple Crown,” leading the league in wins (24), era (1.53), and strikeouts (268), as well as innings (276.2) and complete games (16)…Also led the NL in strikeouts in 1984 (276) at age 19, setting a major league rookie record…Named to four All-Star teams (1984-’86, ’88)…Finished 4th in NL MVP voting in 1985…Named NL Rookie of the Year in 1984…Named NL Pitcher of the Year in 1985 by The Sporting News …Totaled a career .634 winning percentage…Four seasons of 200 strikeouts…Tied major league mark for strikeouts in consecutive games (32) Sept. 12 and 17, 1984…With Fernando Valenzuela, combined to strikeout six straight batters in All-Star Game 1984, setting a record…Was youngest All-Star ever in 1984 at 19…Took loss in 1986 and 1988 All-Star Games...Twelve career postseason games/nine starts in eight postseason series, going 0-4, 3.97 (26 er/59 ip)…Threw no-hitter May 14, 1996 against Seattle at Yankee Stadium…Hurled four games with 15 strikeouts or more…Three AL Division Series (1997, 1998, 2000) with no record and 7 earned runs allowed in 7.2 innings in 3 games/2 starts…Four LCS (1986, 1988, 1998, 2000) with a 0-2, 2.34 (11 er/42.1 ip) in 7 games/5 starts…Set LCS record for 7-game series with 20 strikeouts in 1986…One World Series (1986) going 0-2, 8.00 (8 er/9 ip)…Member of the 1986 WS Championship team.

I'll have to admit when I watched Gooden pitch in his first five seasons, I thought I was watching a player that was a lock for the HOF.

When he posted a 1.53 ERA as a 20-year old pitcher for the Mets, I watched in awe.

Unfortunately for Gooden, personal problems and injuries derailed his career. I don't think Gooden has a chance for election due to how poorly he finished his career.

However, he does have the five year dominating peak and he still finished with decent career numbers. I've always thought Gooden was going to be a quick "no" vote for me. After I looked back over his numbers, I paused momentarily before deciding to remain with that no vote. His later years were just that bad.

Gillette seems to agree as well.

"Doctor K's" brilliant first five seasons with the Mets marked him as a sure-fire Hall of Famer in the late 1980s, as his fearsome fastball blew away most enemy hitters and his jaw-dropping curveball dispatched all the rest. Of course, as loquacious Sparky Anderson and many other crusty baseball lifers love to point out, "Every 24 hours the world turns over on someone who was sitting on top of it." Gooden's world was turned upside down by substance abuse and other problems before he could punch his ticket to Cooperstown, though he did make a comeback in the 1990s and ended up with 194 career wins and an impressive .634 winning percentage. Gooden will likely hang on the HOF ballot for a few years before his star-crossed career drifts off into sepia-toned baseball legend.