Gooden recalls debut: 'I was never so nervous in my life'
Dwight Gooden made the rare jump from Class A minor league baseball directly to the majors. Gooden made his MLB debut on April 7, 1984.
If you’ve never heard Dwight Gooden tell the story of his major league debut, it’s one of those Hall of Fame worthy stories.
It was April 7, 1984.
Gooden, then just 19 years old, was in Houston as the team prepared for a Saturday night game at the Astrodome.
The Mets rookie was “so nervous, so anxious” he couldn’t sit still.
“The bus wasn’t leaving until 5 o’clock,” Gooden told the New York Post. “At 3 o’clock, I remember asking the hotel concierge, ‘How far is the Astrodome? It was about three miles away. I walked to the Astrodome.”
Gooden arrived and looked at the eight-foot high fence. A rookie more than 1,000 miles from home, alone, standing outside the Houston Astrodome pondering his next move.
“I didn’t know how to get in,” he said. “So, I climbed the fence.”
He was spotted by a security guard who stopped him.
“What are you doing, son?” he asked the Mets rookie.
“Making your first big league start, and you almost get busted by a security guard,” said Gooden. “I’ve never been so nervous in my life.”
The next few hours seemed to last forever.
Gooden carried those butterflies around with him as he waited for his turn to take the mound. Despite appearing poised, Gooden was a nervous wreck until he struck out Astros shortstop Dickie Thon to end the first inning.
“I was able to relax after that,” he said.
Gooden pitched five innings, allowing one earned run, three hits and five strike outs in a 3-2 Mets win.
The man known as "Dr. K," Dwight Gooden, pitched 11 seasons for the Mets, compiling a 157-85 W/L record, 3.10 ERA and 1,875 strikeouts. He was inducted in the @MetsRewind HOF in Summer 2019.