The story about Dwight Gooden’s public interview with Ellis Henican (“The Doc Is In The House,” June 25-July 1) was interesting, but one “fact” was very wrong. It says that Gooden, after the Mets won the World Series in 1986, “went on to win the prestigious Cy Young award for pitching in 1987.” I’m wondering if that incorrect year was actually stated by Gooden himself, or Henican, Gooden’s biographer?
Gooden won the Cy Young in 1985, when he had one of the greatest years any pitcher ever had — a 24-4 record, with 268 strikeouts and a 1.53 ERA. He did not win it in 1987 when he had a relatively ordinary 15-7 record, with only 179 strikeouts and a 3.21 ERA. That year’s National League Cy Young was won by Phillies’ reliever Steve Bedrosian, who had 40 saves and a 2.83 ERA.
I’m just an ordinary baseball fan; so if Gooden himself got it wrong, I hope it’s not because he’s back on alcohol and drugs. And if it was Henican who got it wrong, then he should hire me as proofreader for all his books and columns. And if it was Herald writer George Haber who got it wrong, maybe I should win a free year of the paper for my astute fact-checking and proofreading.
Richard Siegelman
