May 14, 1996: For the 2nd time in 72 hours, following Al Leiter pitching the 1st no-hitter in Florida Marlins history, a former Met finishes off a no-hitter. This one really hurts Met fans, because it's something they never could have imagined 10 years ago when they were heading toward an "inevitable" World Championship, or even 2 months ago: Dwight Gooden pitching a no-hitter… for the Yankees.
Pitching for the Mets, at the ages of 19 and 20, Gooden was one of the best pitchers anyone had ever seen. At 21, he was less than that, but still very good, and a World Series winner. At 22 and 23, he was still one of the best pitchers in baseball, but had already become addicted to alcohol and cocaine and gone through rehab once.
At 24, he missed half the season due to injury. At 25, he was really good again. But the injuries and the substance abuse piled up. At 26, 27 and 28, when he should have been at his peak, he was just another pitcher. At 29, he was busted for drugs again. At 30, he sat out the entire year with a suspension.
At 31, he was signed by the Yankees, as team owner George Steinbrenner was a sucker for 2 things: A redemption story, and anything that made the Mets look bad. Gooden came into the game of May 14, against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium, with a record of 1-3 and an ERA of 5.67. It was becoming clear that the only reason he was in the rotation was that his former Mets teammate, David Cone, who was supposed to be the Yankees' ace, would be out with an injury until September.
On this night, he would be facing a team that had beaten the Yankees in the previous season's Playoffs, the Seattle Mariners. Their lineup no longer had Tino Martinez, whom the Yankees had obtained in an off-season trade, but it had Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, and a not-quite-21-year-old Alex Rodriguez. And if that wasn't enough, Gooden was pitching knowing that his father was scheduled for heart surgery the next morning.
And the Yankees had trouble backing him up. It took them until the top of the 6th inning to score. Wade Boggs led off with a single, Joe Girardi singled (and was probably wondering why Mariner starter Sterling Hitchcock, part of the Tino trade, was still pitching despite a shutout to this point), Paul O'Neill advanced the runners with a groundout, Rubén Sierra was walked intentionally, Tino got Boggs home with a sacrifice fly, and Jim Leyritz singled home Girardi. At this point, Yankee Legend turned Mariner manager Lou Piniella was so flustered, he brought Michael Jackson in to pitch. (Not that one.)
Gooden began the game with a walk, and walked another batter in the 1st inning. Good fielding helped him get out of it. He walked a batter in the 2nd, and another in the 3rd. Tino made an error in the 6th. But the man once known as "Doctor K" for his many strikeouts, and now, usually, as just plain "Doc," kept getting out of it, without allowing a run, or even a hit.
Gooden took the mound for the top of the 9th, with only a 2-0 lead, and a famous "short porch" behind him in right field. He still had to worry about winning the game first, and making history second. He walked A-Rod. He got Griffey to ground out to Tino, unassisted, which advanced Griffey to 2nd. He walked Edgar. Now, the tying runs were on base. With Buhner up, he threw a wild pitch. Now, the tying runs were in scoring position.
Gooden struck Buhner out. It was only his 5th strikeout, to 6 walks -- but no hits. The game fell into the hands of Paul Sorrento. He popped up to short, and the Yankees' rookie shortstop, Derek Jeter, caught it for the last out.
Ballgame over: Yankees 2, Mariners 0. Dwight Gooden had pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees.
This was the 1st indication that this season, the 1st of the post-Don Mattingly era, might be something special.
I had the chance to go to this game. I had the time, the money, and the day off. I decided against it, because I didn’t want to mess with rush hour traffic (road and subway) in New York. I chose instead to see the game the following Saturday afternoon. The Yankees lost that game to the Milwaukee Brewers, and a broken water main in Times Square meant it took me ages to get back to Port Authority. That'll teach me.
Gooden finished the season 11-7, with a 5.01 ERA. Manager Joe Torre left him off the postseason roster, due to exhaustion.
Dan Gooden, Dwight's father, survived the surgery, performed in their hometown of Tampa, but never fully recovered, and died the following January 12, at the age of 69.
After pitching for Cleveland, Houston and Tampa Bay, Gooden returned to the Yankees in 2000, appearing in 1 game each of the AL Division Series and Championship Series. He did not appear in the World Series -- against the Mets -- but the Yankees won it. Gooden then retired, just short of his 36th birthday.
His career record was 194-112. His ERA was 3.51. He struck out 2,293 batters. It wasn't just the substance abuse that shortened his career: It was multiple injuries, too, injuries that had nothing to do with amber liquid or white powder. He might have stayed totally clean, and still not made the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Mets elected him to their team Hall of Fame. But he won 2 World Series with the Yankees, 1 with the Mets. He has appeared at both teams' Old-Timers Day celebrations.
UPDATE: In 2024, the Mets retired Gooden's Number 16.
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May 14, 1996 was a Tuesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 9-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Andy Ashby outpitched Paul Wilson, who had an RBI single in his own cause. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and a stolen base. Jeff Kent hit a home run for the Mets.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. José Canseco was with the Red Sox that season, and he singled John Valentin home to win the game in the bottom of the 12th inning.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Curt Schilling pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Russ Springer finished a 6-hit shutout. Pete Incaviglia hit a home run. Barry Bonds went 0-for-1 with 2 walks before leaving the game due to an injury.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. John Smoltz outpitched Paul Wagner. Javy López went 4-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs.
* The Florida Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-5 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.
* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-0 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Ken Hill pitched a 4-hit shutout. Mickey Tettleton hit 2 home runs.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then known as the Network Associates Coliseum). Cal Ripken went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* And the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers were rained out at Milwaukee County Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 16. The Brewers swept, 9-7 and 3-2.
Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks 94-81 at the United Center in Chicago. Michael Jordan scored 35 points. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 98-87 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
And there were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Florida Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Miami Arena. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-2 at the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.
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