(New York) Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 and Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 will be retired by the New York Mets in two separate ceremonies in 2024.
After these two withdrawals, nine numbers of players and managers will have been ruled out forever by the Mets. When Steve Cohen bought the team in November 2020, only four had been retired.
Gooden and Strawberry were integral to the club’s last World Series win in 1986. The Mets had led the Majors with a 108-54 record that season before beating the Boston Red Sox in seven games .
The careers of both players were subsequently derailed, plagued by problems with drug use.
Gooden’s stint with the Mets began in 1994, when MLB suspended him for 60 days for violating its drug rehabilitation program. He became a free agent after the campaign and was suspended for the entire 1995 season for again violating the terms of his drug rehabilitation program.
Strawberry was suspended by MLB on three occasions after leaving the Mets, twice for cocaine use and once following an arrest for cocaine possession.
The 58-year-old Gooden was a four-time Mets All-Star selection between 1984 and 1994. He won the National’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 1984 and the Cy-Young in 1985. He completed his 11 seasons with the Mets with a 157-85 record, 3.10 GAA and 1,875 strikeouts.
He also played for the Yankees (1996-97 and 2000), Cleveland Indians (1998-99), Houston Astros (2000) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000), ending his career with a record of 194-112, one m. p. Mr. of 3.51 and 2,293 strikeouts.
Strawberry, 61, was a seven-time Mets all-star from 1983-91. He had .263/.359/.520 offensive averages with 252 home runs, 733 RBI and 191 stolen bases. He also played with the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees. He finished his career with averages of .259/.357/.505, 335 home runs, 1,000 RBI and 221 stolen bases.
Other numbers retired from the Mets are 14 (Gil Hodges, in 1973), 17 (Keith Hernandez, 2022), 24 (Willie Mays, 2022), 31 (Mike Piazza, 2016), 36 (Jerry Koosman, 2021), 37 (Casey Stengel, 1965), 41 (Tom Seaver, 1988), in addition to the 42, removed from all teams by MLB in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson.
