GOODEN

by Ira Kaufman (edited by Adam Kluger)

ou grew up in Tampa, when did you first get interested in baseball?

My dad was a semi-pro coach in baseball so as any kid, I would follow my dad wherever he would go. While watching baseball games on tv with my dad, he would quiz me, "what would you throw here, why would you throw that?," he just knew I was going to be a pitcher and my nephew Gary Sheffield, we were raised in the same house, my sister had him very young. I remember one day him asking me how much I like baseball and I said,"I like it a lot," I was 7-8 years old and every day my dad came home from work, we would go to the park and work on these drills and it wasn't fun because he would take me to the park and you work on all these drills but you do not have a ball or a glove or bat so it wasn't that much fun I remember telling my mom "Dad's making me go to the park and do all this stuff but we're not throwing a ball we're not hitting a ball and at the time it didn't make sense," but as we got older it started making sense doing the drills we were doing. The one regret I do have was not having a conversation with my dad to find out where he found out his knowledge of baseball because he was well ahead of his time in teaching the game of baseball and when I got older I found out that 35 guys from my little league park all made it to the major leagues. Off my head, you had myself, Gary Sheffield, Carl Everett, Tyrone Griffin, Derek Bell... I got to play in the little league world series in 1975 and I played in the teenage world series in 1979.

You got to the Mets and you are in their minor league system for just 1 year, you flew through the entire system when you were 18.

Yes I think a big part was because of Davey Johnson I was in Kingsport and Davey was a roving instructor with the Mets I remember I was having a bullpen session with Alan Jackson, he was my pitching coach and Davey came over and challenged me, "let's see one down and away, outside to the right-hand hitter," and I'd do that. let me see a curveball I was on that day, and then in '83 he was the triple league manager in Norfolk Virginia, and the tidewater tides and I was at Lynchburg and I was called up by Davey for Triple-A and won two big games for him in the playoffs and the triple-A world series and he said, "wherever I manage next year I'm taking you with me." I'm thinking at that time, I'm only 18, that I would at least be in triple-A...He got the big league job while I was in the instructional league and I said to Davey, "you know what you told me," and Davey said, "oh yeah, you're coming." I got invited to spring training as a non-roster player and the press would tell me that I would be sent down to triple-A and I would run into Davey's office like a little kid and he would tell me, "don't worry you are going to make the team." On the last game of spring training, I was ready to go play the Tigers and he said, "congratulations you made the team." I was excited to share that joy with my father. I'll never forget the look on his face because it was initially his dream that became my dream just one of the greatest moments that I ever had.

Your own son Dylan is a linebacker at Maryland.

Very proud -- he played baseball -I enjoy football, but baseball is my love. Football is his game...very proud of him.

What are your thoughts about the possibility of one day getting voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

I don't start thinking about it until the votes start coming around. If I look at my numbers I think yeah I deserve to be in there -- if you look at the number of starts I had and quality starts that I had my first five years compared to Koufax's first five years I think I had the numbers there. I do think I belong in there but some people will say "but he had a drug problem and drug addiction." Yes, I did. I cleaned up and at the same time, I don't think I deserve a life sentence for the mistakes I've made in my life. I do think I do belong but I don't have the votes and that's fine I still enjoyed my career because as soon as I made it to the majors I told my dad I just want to stay a long time and stay healthy I never thought about the awards. I got to win three world series and I got to win just about every award a pitcher can win but to answer the question do I think I belong in the Hall of Fame? Yes, I do believe that. It hasn't happened but maybe one day it will happen. Let's see.

When you were at the top of your game was by far the best - your season in 1985, 244, 1.53 era, over 276 strikeouts, and in one year you had 8 shutouts. Over a 50-game stretch, you won 37 games and had 412 K's and that is considered the greatest 50game stretch in the history of baseball. No pitcher has ever been so dominant

Drugs and alcohol addiction are a disease and I had that. when you mention that 50-game run that I had everything I did after that period was compared to that. I remember having started in 1986 and beating Fernando Valenzuela 3-0 and I only had 4 strikeouts and the first question was, "why did you only have 4 strikeouts?" I just had a complete game shutout against one of the best pitchers in baseball ...but when you have such a career year early on in the start of your career --then anything that followed kind of worked against me as well.

In '86 you were 17-6 in '87 you were 15-7 and then 18-9 and in '89 9-4 in 90, 91 you were 13-7--at your best you were better than anyone else and that might be the strongest case for you--when people saw you pitch they saw an all-time great.

Thank you, I wasn't aware of that. The numbers are there and when you mention that and a lot of fans and players in the Hall of Fame mention that, it is good to hear. I had a problem with drugs and alcohol and I'm not justifying anything. I claim all the mistakes I've made in my life but you know I had a disease.

Thank you ...not saying anything bad about the people who are in but I think I've had a better career than some of the people who are in...the world series rings that I've won... but, unfortunately, the writers have a lot of power and nothing against the writers but they have the pull to decide who goes in and who doesn't, but who knows maybe in the future? These days pitchers only go out and pitch 4 or 5 innings and the way the system is now, a lot of today's pitchers are not going to get 200 wins. So, maybe who knows? Maybe down the road, I'll get the opportunity and hopefully, I'll still be around to see it. today I'm healthy. I feel great and I'm clean and sober and that's the thing I'm most proud of. But when the hall of fame ballots do come around, it is something that crosses my mind and sometimes I think about what could I have done differently and I am able to look back and be proud of the things I did accomplish.

For the complete interview with Dwight Gooden please visit www.iraonsports.com