Dwight Gooden burst on the scene with the Mets in 1984 when he was 19 years old. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League that year. He pitched in 31 games (all starts) in 1984 for the Mets and he was 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Gooden only allowed 161 hits in 218 innings as a rookie while leading the majors in strikeouts with 276 which shows how nasty his fastball (which was blazing) and his curveball (knee buckling) were. He took his game to a new level in 1985 for the Mets when he won the Cy Young Award by having one of the best seasons for a starting pitcher in the majors of all-time. Gooden started 35 games in 1985 and he was 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He only allowed 198 hits in 276 2/3 innings while whiffing a major league leading 268 batters. He got a couple of nicknames like “Doc” and “Dr. K” but little did anyone know he was seeing a doctor who would ruin his career. The Dr. he was seeing was drug dealers. Cocaine ruined Gooden’s career as he couldn’t handle all of his fame and fortune. It showed in his performance as he never came close to the level he pitched his first two years in the majors. Gooden pitched 11 years for the Mets appearing in 305 games (303 starts) in which he was 157-85 with 1 save, a 3.10 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Gooden finished his career tied for 8th in Mets’ history in games pitched (305), #3 in games started (303), #2 in wins (157), #5 in ERA (3.10), #3 in complete games (67), #4 in shutouts (23), #2 in strikeouts (1,875) and #3 in innings pitched (2,169 2/3). Drugs totally ruined Gooden’s career as he had Hall of Fame talent.

Dave Kingman was a all-or-nothing hitter for the New York Mets. He played six years for the Mets appearing in 664 games in which he was 509 for 2,323 (.219 avg, .741 OPS) with 302 runs scored, 154 homers, 389 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. But, he also whiffed a staggering 672 times in his time with the Mets. Kingman was a All-Star in 1976 with the Mets as he played in 123 games that season in which he was 113 for 474 (.238 avg, .793 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 37 homers and 86 RBIs. Kingman led the National League in homers with 37 and he also led the league in whiffs with 156 in 1982 with the Mets. Kingman’s nickname was Kong for how far he could jack a ball. Despite only playing six years for the Mets, Kingman is #4 on the all-time homer list with them.