⚾
NO STAT IS SAFE. NO ERA IS FORGOTTEN.
VOL. 1, NO. 31 · SEPTEMBER 28, 2026 · EVERY MONDAY
ISSUE #031 · FREE AGENT
Dwight Gooden — 1985 Was
The Greatest Pitching Season
Most People Forgot
On April 29, 1986, Roger Clemens struck out 20 batters in a single game — the single-game strikeout
📅 THIS DATE IN
BASEBALL record that stood for 10 years.
THE STAT THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST 01
HE WAS BETTER IN 1985 THAN SANDY KOUFAX WAS IN ANY SEASON OF HIS CAREER. BY THE NUMBERS.
24-4. 1.53 ERA. 268 K. Age 20. The Most Dominant
Pitcher Season Since Gibson.
GOODEN 1985 ERA+ BOB GIBSON 1968 PEDRO MARTINEZ 2000
WALTER JOHNSON 1913 GOODEN CAREER ERA AGE IN 1985
Gooden's 1985 season: 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts, 16 complete games, 8 shutouts. His ERA+ of 229
is the fourth-highest single-season mark in history. He was 20 years old. What followed — substance
abuse, suspensions, the slow collapse — makes 1985 feel like a separate baseball life.
THE GAME YOU FORGOT 02
VS St. Louis Cardinals SEPTEMBER 12, 1985
11 3 0 W 3-0
IP K HITS ALLOWED ER RESULT
Dr. K
HIS 20TH WIN OF THE SEASON AT 20 YEARS OLD
Gooden's September 12, 1985 complete game shutout against St. Louis was vintage '85 Doc — three hits, 11
strikeouts, nothing across. It was his 20th win of the season. He was 20 years old pitching in a pennant race
for the Mets. The 1985 Mets finished 98-64 and still missed the playoffs. Gooden went 24-4 and didn't win
the division. There is no justice in baseball standings.
ERA VS ERA 03
Greatest Age-20 Pitching Season In History?
GOODEN 1985 ANY COMPARABLE
ERA BOB FELLER 1940 (AGE 21)
1.53 2.61 ERA
ERA+ VS FERNANDO VALENZUELA 1981
229 2.48 ERA — ROY + Cy Young
AGE VERDICT
20 Nobody else is close at 20
No 20-year-old in baseball history has put up numbers close to Gooden's 1985. Fernando Valenzuela won ROY
and Cy Young at 20 in 1981. Gooden's 1.53 ERA and 229 ERA+ at the same age is simply in a different category.
Greatest single season by a 20-year-old pitcher?
GOODEN 1985 — 1.53 ERA VALENZUELA 1981 — ROY + CY YOUNG FELLER 1940 — 27 WINS AT 21
NO COMP EXISTS
THE COLDEST MOMENT 04
1987 · THE SUSPENSION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
He Tested Positive For Cocaine In 1987. The Best
Season Ever Ended At 22.
Gooden was suspended for the first 60 days of 1987 after testing positive for cocaine. He was
22 years old. His 1984-86 was already one of the three or four greatest three-year stretches in
pitching history. The suspension broke the trajectory permanently. He won a World Series with
the 1986 Mets but never threw another 1.53 ERA season. He said later the pressure of being Dr.
K at 19 was something nobody had prepared him for.
I was just a kid trying to live up to something nobody could live up to.
— DWIGHT GOODEN
THE STAT VAULT 05
WINS IN 1985
ERA IN 1985
1.53 24 Against 4 losses. He was 24-4 pitching
Fourth-highest ERA+ (229) in baseball
for a 98-win team that didn't win the
history. He was 20 years old.
division.
WORLD SERIES RING
STRIKEOUTS IN 1984 — HIS ROOKIE YEAR
276 1986 He won the championship his third
He won ROY in 1984 with 276 K at age 19.
season. The Mets beat the Red Sox in 7
Then topped it with 268 in 1985.
games.
229 1985 ERA+
Fourth-highest single-season ERA+ in history behind Gibson (258), Pedro (291), and Johnson (259).
THE FORGOTTEN MAN 06
OVERLOOKED · UNDERRATED · DESERVES MORE
Darryl Strawberry
NEW YORK METS · 1983-1999
.259 BA · 335 HR · 8 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS
Gooden's Running Mate. 335 HR. 8 All-Stars. Should Be In The Hall Of Fame.
Darryl Strawberry hit 335 HR and made 8 All-Star teams alongside Gooden on the Mets dynasty. Substance
abuse derailed his career too. He and Gooden's parallel falls from grace are the saddest story in baseball's
drug era. His career numbers are Hall of Fame-adjacent. He's not on the ballot.
THE CONNECTION:
Strawberry and Gooden were the two best players on the 1986 World Series champions and the two
most tragic falls from greatness in Mets history. Same team, same arc, same silence from the Hall of
Fame.
COMING NEXT MONDAY
Next Monday: Roger Clemens won 7 Cy Youngs across 24 seasons. The steroids question never went away.
Who's Your Forgotten Man?
Reply with a player from any era who deserves more credit. Best answer gets featured next Monday.
All Eras. All Stats. No Debate.
Every Monday. No exceptions.