October 9, 1988: The End of the Mets Dynasty That Never Was

October 9, 1988: Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Shea Stadium. The New York Mets lead the Los Angeles Dodgers 2 games to 1. This is the 1st time the Mets have entered postseason play against either of the former National League teams from New York, either the former Brooklyn Dodgers or the New York-turned-San Francisco Giants, whose move to California after the 1957 season made the Mets' creation desirable for so many (if not really necessary.)

Dwight Gooden is one out away from giving the Mets a win in Game 4 of the NLCS. If Gooden had simply gotten through the inning allowing less than 2 runs, the Mets would have won, and been up 3 games to 1. They could have won the Pennant without having to go back to Los Angeles. And if the weak-hitting Dodgers could beat the Oakland Athletics in the World Series, surely the Mets could have. The A's completed a 4-game sweep over the Boston Red Sox the same day, 4-1 at the Oakland Coliseum, winning the American League Pennant.

It would have been the Mets' 2nd World Championship in 3 years, and deepened their status as New York's Number 1 team. Keep in mind, the Yankees hadn't won a Pennant in 7 years and a World Series in 10 years -- by their standards, an eternity.

Maybe that hypothetical glorious Mets team would have been kept together. Maybe Gooden and Strawberry don't fall back into drug problems. (Humor me here.) Maybe the Mets would have found suitable replacements for Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, both 34 years old, the glue of their 1986 World Champions. Maybe things would have changed so much that the Mets never gave the hearts and minds of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans back to the Yankees, and the Yankees never got into position to take them back.

But here's what actually happened. Gooden fulfilled the cliché that walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. He walked John Shelby to lead off the top of the 9th. The next batter was Mike Scioscia, a very good catcher, but not known for his hitting. He hit a home run to tie the game.

The game went to extra innings. Roger McDowell spit the bit (I'm sorry, but the joke was too good to not use), giving up a home run to Kirk Gibson in the 12th inning. Gibson was 1-for-16 in the postseason up until that moment.

Jesse Orosco, who got the clinching outs for the 1986 Pennant and World Series for the Mets, had been traded to the Dodgers, but nearly blew it in the 12th. Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda called Hershiser, who'd won Game 1 and then, given an extra day because of a rainout, pitched 7 innings in Game 3 the day before this, out of the bullpen, to get the last out. He did.

Dodgers 4, Mets 2. Series tied. The Dodgers won the series in Game 7 in Los Angeles.

This was the hinge day in Met history, when it all started to go wrong. It was the 1st major instance of what I've come to call "The Curse of Kevin Mitchell." Maybe, maybe, maybe? Since Scioscia's homer, 34 years ago, "maybes" are pretty much all the Mets have had.

The Mets have frequently used the slogan "The Magic Is Back." October 9, 1988 was the day the magic died.

All that talent, all those runs toward the postseason from 1984 to 1990, and yet, the Mets turned out to be "A Dynasty of One," to borrow the phrase of ESPN Pardon the Interruption co-host Michael Wilbon -- just like the 1985 Chicago Bears, much to the Chicagoan Wilbon's chagrin.

*

October 9, 1988 was a Sunday. In addition to the A's completing the ALCS sweep over the Red Sox, these NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Jets lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 36-19 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons, 33-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts, 34-23 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Cleveland Browns, 16-10 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 24-7 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots, 45-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 14-13 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Washington Redskins beat their arch-rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 35-17 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 7-6 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Phoenix Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-14 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the San Diego Chargers, 23-17 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Los Angeles Raiders, 24-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* The Denver Broncos beat the San Francisco 49ers, 16-13 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. This was the only game of the weekend to go to overtime, and Rich Karlis won it with a 22-yard field goal.

* The following night, on ABC Monday Night Football, arch-rivals met at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants, 24-13.

July 8, 2000: A Split-Stadium Doubleheader

Mets manager Bobby Valentine (left) and Yankees manager Joe Torre

July 7, 2000: An Interleague weekend series begins at Shea Stadium in New York. It was supposed to be 3 games there, but a rainout forced it into 4 games, with the teams playing a doubleheader the next day, one at each stadium.

In the Friday night game, the Yankees beat the Mets 2-1. Four straight singles – by Derek Jeter, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada – off Al Leiter in the 1st inning get Orlando (El Duque) Hernández all the runs he needs.

July 8, 2000: The Saturday split-stadium doubleheader began at Shea at 1:15 PM, U.S. Eastern Time. Bobby Jones started for the Mets, while former Met star Dwight Gooden started for the Yankees. The Yankees staked "Doctor K" to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. The Mets pulled a run back in the bottom of the 2nd, and tied the game in the 5th.

But Tino Martinez hit a home run in the top of the 6th, and singled home another run in the 8th. The Yankees won, 4-2. It was the 191st win of Gooden's career, cut short by drug suspensions and injuries. He would only win 3 more, and a 194-112 record, 2,293 strikeouts, and 3 World Series rings have not been enough to gain him serious consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The 2nd game got underway at Yankee Stadium at 8:05 PM. All the scoring came in the 5th inning. Back-to-back singles by Derek Bell and Edgardo Alfonzo off Roger Clemens gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. But the Yankees came right back against Glendon Rusch: A single by David Justice, a single by Shane Spencer, a sacrifice bunt by Chris Turner, an RBI single by Scott Brosius, and a 3-run home run by Chuck Knoblauch. Yankees 4, Mets 2.

June 9, 2000: Andy Pettitte did not have his best stuff. Mike Hampton had his, going 7 innings of 6-hit shutout ball. A Todd Zeile homer in the 4th and a Melvin Mora sacrifice fly in the 7th gave the Mets a 2-0 win.

So the Yankees took 2 out of 3 in the scheduled series, 3 out of 4 overall. The way the regular season worked out, the Mets won more games, 92 to the Yankees' 87; but the Yankees' total was enough to win the American League Eastern Division by 2 1/2 games over their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox; while the Mets' total put them 1 game behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League Eastern Division.

Luck was on the Mets' side: In the NL Division Series, they beat the San Francisco Giants, while the Braves lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets then beat the Cards for their 1st Pennant in 14 years. The Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, then the Seattle Mariners, to win their 3rd straight Pennant, their 4th in the last 5 years, and their 37th overall.

That set up the 1st Subway Series since 1956, Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers. Since Interleague Play began in 1997, New York baseball fans, and the New York media, always refer to the regular-season games between the Yankees and the Mets as a "Subway Series." It's not. Nobody ever called regular-season games between the Dodgers and the New York edition of the Giants a "Subway Series." That term was reserved for a World Series between 2 New York teams. The Yankees beat the Mets in 5 games, clinching at Shea Stadium.

*

July 8, 2000 was a Saturday. These other Major League Baseball games were played, some of them arch-rivalries, some of them regional rivalries, some of them both, some of them neither, nearly all of them Interleague:

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the other Canadian team, the Montreal expos, 6-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Atlanta Braves, who played in Boston from 1871 to 1952, beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Cal Ripken Jr. did not play. Despite the Phils' 13 runs, the only home run was hit by Will Clark, for the Orioles.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 6-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. John Flaherty scored the winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning, on a wild pitch by Braden Looper with Russ Johnson at bat.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Cleveland Indians, 14-5 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Omar Vizquel, usually known for his defense, hit 2 home runs, and Kenny Lofton added 1. It made little difference as, for the Reds, Ken Griffey Jr. hit 2, and 1 each was hit by Pokey Reese and Chris Stynes.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Sammy Sosa, Eric Young Sr. and Henry Rodriguez hit home runs for the North Siders. The South Side runs came on solo homers by Magglio Ordóñez and Herbert Perry.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Tony Clark singled Brad Ausmus and Bobby Higginson home with the winning runs in the top of the 15th inning.

* In the only intraleague game of the day, the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire did not play, and Barry Bonds only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out.

* The Texas Rangers beat the San Diego Padres, 8-1 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at Enron Field (soon to be renamed Minute Maid Park, and now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-2 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8-7 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum). Jeremy Giambi singled Ryan Christenson home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-0 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Aaron Sele (3 hits over 7 innings) and Brett Tomko (2 over 2) combined on a 5-hit shutout. John Olerud hit a home run.

July 4, 1985: The Rick Camp Game

July 4, 1985: For anybody who watched this baseball game, it was a 4th of July that will never, ever be forgot.

The Atlanta Braves were hosting the New York Mets at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, and Braves owner Ted Turner, showman that he was, scheduled a postgame 4th of July fireworks show. Paid attendance at the 52,007-seat concrete ashtray just south of downtown Atlanta was 44,947.

But the game was delayed by rain, and didn't start until 9:04 PM. Rick Mahler started for the Braves, and the Mets hit him hard, and he didn't get out of the 4th inning. Dwight Gooden started for the Mets, and, in a year when he seemed to be touched by God, he was no better. A second rain delay came in the bottom of the 3rd inning, lasting 41 minutes. When it ended, Met manager Davey Johnson -- who hit 41 home runs as a 2nd baseman for the Braves in 1973 -- didn't take any chances, and he took Doctor K out.

Did I say Davey didn't take any chances? When they came back from the rain delay, he let Roger McDowell, normally a late-inning reliever, finish the bottom of the 3rd. Terry Leach pitched the 4th through the 8th, but Davey brought in Doug Sisk, and he let the Braves score 4 runs in that inning to take the lead, 8-7. This included a Keith Hernandez home run. But future Hall-of-Famer Bruce Sutter blew it in the 9th, and the game went to extra innings. At one point, Davey got thrown out of the game.

The Braves got 2 men on with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th, but the Mets got out of it with a double play. In the top of the 13th, with 2 out, Ray Knight singled, and Howard Johnson hit a home run. 10-8 Mets. But in the bottom of the 13th, Tom Gorman -- the only reliever the Mets had left -- allowed a leadoff single to Rafael Ramirez. He struck out Dale Murphy and Gerald Perry, but then gave up a home run to Terry Harper. 10-10. More "free baseball."

Gene Garber walked Lenny Dykstra and Hernandez in the top of the 14th, but got out of it. Knight singled for the Mets in the top of the 15th, but got no farther than 1st base. With 2 out in the bottom of the 16th, Ken Oberkfell singled off Gorman, and Bruce Benedict drew a walk. But Gorman got out of it.

Rick Camp, the Braves' last remaining reliever, came into the game in the top of the 17th, and walked Gary Carter, but then struck out Darryl Strawberry and Gorman, and got Knight to ground into a force play. Ramirez singled with 2 outs in the bottom of the 17th, but Gorman got out of it.

Top of the 18th. HoJo led off with a single. Danny Heep bunted, and Camp rushed it, and threw it away. 1st and 3rd, nobody out. Dykstra hit a sacrifice fly, and it was 11-10 Mets. There was nothing that Braves manager Eddie Haas could do, as Camp was it: The only pitchers he had left were starters, the same as the Mets.

Bottom of the 18th. Perry and Harper grounded out. That brought up Camp, as Haas couldn't pinch-hit for him. He had nobody left to bat or pitch. This pudgy bearded guy, wearing Number 37 for his home-State team, came up to bat. He came into that game 10-for-168 for his career -- a lifetime batting average of .060. He was 0-for-his-last-13. He hadn't gotten a hit since September 1, 1984, 10 months earlier.

John Sterling, who became the main voice for the New York Yankees in 1989, but then doing games for the Braves -- and celebrating his 47th birthday -- turned to his broadcast partner, Ernie Johnson, who had pitched for the Braves in Milwaukee, and was the father of basketball announcer Ernie Johnson Jr., and said, "I'll tell you, Ernie: If hits a home run to tie this game, this game will be certified as absolutely the nuttiest in the history of baseball."

What do you think happened? Have you ever heard 8,000 people make as much noise as 50,000? You did if you were watching TBS -- or WOR-Channel 9 -- that middle-of-the-night. I was watching on WOR, but, because of Sterling's call, it's the TBS version that seems to have been preserved for posterity and shown on highlights.

The time was 3:30 AM, and here is what Sterling said:

And he hits it to deep left! Heep goes back! It is... GONE! Holy cow! Oh my goodness! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Rick Camp! Rick Camp! I told you Ernie, if he hits it out... That certifies this game as the wildest, wackiest, most improbable game in history!

Mets 11, Braves 11. And to make matters worse, Gorman walked the next batter, Benedict. But he got Paul Runge to ground into a force play, and we went to the 19th inning. (This Paul Runge is not related to the umpire of the same name, whose father Ed and son Brian have also been MLB umpires.)

The Mets play a game this long every few years. In 1964, they went 23 innings in a loss to the San Francisco Giants -- in the 2nd game of a doubleheader. In 1965, they went 18 innings in Philadelphia against the Phillies, before the game was called due to a curfew, and it was replayed. In 1968, they went 24 innings in a loss to the Houston Astros. In 1974, they went 25 innings in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

In 1986, they played what was then the longest game in NLCS history, going 16 innings in beating Houston to clinch the Pennant. They went 20 innings in a 2010 win in St. Louis, 20 in a 2013 loss to the Miami Marlins, 18 in a 2015 loss in St. Louis, and 18 in a 2019 loss in Milwaukee to the Brewers. The 2020 introduction of the "ghost runner" rule makes another such marathon unlikely.

At some point in all this, Ralph Kiner, the great Pittsburgh Pirates slugger who'd been broadcasting for the Mets since the franchise began in 1962 (and still did one game a week until he died in 2014), left the stadium, returned to his hotel, and turned on the TV. He saw the game, and during the next Met broadcast, said that he thought that what he was watching was a recap. Nope, the game was still going on.

Finally, at about 3:40 in the morning, with only about 8,000 people left in the stands, the Mets decided enough was enough, that they'd had it with these mother-freaking Braves in this mother-freaking game. They pounded Camp, who could not be relieved. Carter led off with a single. John Christensen, who'd pinch-hit for Strawberry, bunted him over to 2nd.

Whoever was managing the Mets at that point -- it might have been 1st base coach Bill Robinson -- decided to let the next day's starter, Ron Darling, pitch the bottom of the 19th, and a few innings thereafter if necessary, since who knew if this game had another 9 innings in it, and sent Rusty Staub, playing one of his last games, up to pinch-hit for the exhausted Gorman.

Haas ordered Camp to walk Staub intentionally to set up a double play, but it didn't work: Knight doubled home Carter and sent Staub to 3rd.  (Daniel Joseph Staub was known as Rusty for his hair, and Montreal Expos fans called him "Le Grand Orange." He wasn't fast even before he turned into a flame-haired Fat Elvis -- or, as Sterling called him in this game, "Babe Ruth.") HoJo was intentionally walked, and that didn't work, either: Heep singled home Staub and Knight, and the throw from the outfield was mishandled, and HoJo scored, too. Dykstra flew out, getting Heep to 3rd, and Wally Backman singled Heep home, before Camp finally got Hernandez to ground out.

Hernandez had doubled and scored in the 1st inning, flown out to center in the 3rd, tripled home a run and scored in the 4th, lined out to center in the 6th, homered in the 8th, flown out to left in the 9th, singled in the 12th to complete "hitting for the cycle," was intentionally walked in the 14th (I don't think there's a term for hitting for the cycle and drawing a walk in the same game), grounded to 2nd in the 16th, flew to center in the 18th, and grounded to 2nd again in the 19th. Total: 4-for-10 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs. Wally Backman also had 4 hits for the Mets, while Terry Harper had 5 hits and 4 RBIs for the Braves.

So, going to the bottom of the 19th inning, the score was Mets 16, Braves 11. This was the mid-1980s Mets. Surely, these Mets could hold a 5-run lead. Surely, the Braves wouldn't score 6 runs and win it in the bottom of the 19th. Or, potentially worse, score 5 runs and send the game to a 20th inning!

They were determined to give it a good shot. Darling came out, and got the 1st out, a groundout by Paul Zuvella. But Claudell Washington hit a bouncer to 1st that Hernandez mishandled. (No, Kramer and Newman from Seinfeld were not in the stands to yell, "Nice game, pretty boy!") Claudell and his long neck got to 2nd.

No problem, Darling would get out of it, right? Sure enough, he got Ramirez to pop up. One more out. That left only the dangerous Murphy, the 1982 & '83 National League Most Valuable Player, and still one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. But what could he do? A home run would only make it 16-13.

But Darling walked him. And then he walked Perry. And now the bases were loaded for Harper, who had already homered. And Harper singled. Washington and Murphy scored. Perry was on 3rd. It was 16-13 Mets. Men on 1st and 3rd. A home run would tie the game. Again.

And who was up? Rick Camp. Surely, he wouldn't do it again...

He didn't: Darling struck him out on a high fastball. Finally, mercifully, at long last, ballgame over.

Camp was the losing pitcher, but he won something more important than a single baseball game. He won a place in baseball lore. After all these years, we're still talking about this mind-boggling game, and not about any other game in which he ever pitched.

Oh yeah: Although the game was over, the night wasn't. The game ended at 3:55 AM. At 4:01, Ted Turner kept his promise: The fireworks went off. The 8,000 or so fans who hadn't left cheered.

People living near the stadium did not. They heard booms and saw flashes of light, and they called the police, thinking that Atlanta was under attack.

Incredibly, Camp got 2 more hits that season, for a batting average of .231. He closed his career 13-for-175, .074. On-base percentage, .109. Slugging percentage, .114. OPS, .224. OPS+, -39. RBIs, 7. Home runs, 1.

After leaving baseball, Camp became a lobbyist. He got into legal trouble in 2005, indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiring to steal over $2 million from a mental health agency. He was convicted, and served 3 years in prison. But everyone who met him seemed to say he was a wonderful guy. Is it possible that, like Denny McLain, a pitcher who went to prison on a similar charge, he simply got in with the wrong people?

Camp died in 2013. He was 59 years old. He gave baseball fans a memory they might cherish, or they might not, but it is one that they will never, ever forget.

*

July 4, 1985 was a Thursday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry went the distance. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4. So did Don Mattingly, adding an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. For the Phils, Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4, and home runs were hit by Juan Samuel, Von Hayes and Ozzie Virgil Jr. For the Reds, manager Pete Rose put 1st baseman Pete Rose into the game, but he went 0-for-3.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Britt Burns pitched a 4-hit shutout. It was the 60th win of his career, and he was only 26. He would win 10 more that season, finishing at 18-11. But, due to injury, he never pitched again.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.) Cal Ripken went 1-for-4. So did Eddie Murray, with 2 RBIs. George Brett went 2-for-3 with a walk.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 9-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. This was the only other extra-inning game of the day: With 1 out in the top of the 12th, the Expos got a single from Sal Butera, a flyout from Jim Wohlford, a single from Tim Raines, an RBI double from Vance Law, a walk from Andre Dawson, a 2-RBI single from Hubie Brooks, and a 3-run home run from Tim Wallach.

* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-4 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew both went 0-for-4, but Jerry Narron, best known as Thurman Munson's immediate emergency replacement as Yankee catcher, hit a home run for the Halos, 1 of only 21 he would hit in his career. Wade Boggs went 1-for-4.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Robin Yount and Paul Molitor both went 0-for-4.

May 14, 1996: Dwight Gooden's No-Hitter

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.

*

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.