NY Mets: 1 accomplishment missing from Dwight Gooden’s resume

Dwight Gooden accomplished a lot on the baseball field with the New York Mets and each team he played with after. He won the World Series, won Rookie of the Year, owns a Cy Young, and even tossed a no-hitter. There’s not much he didn’t do during his playing days.

One feat did elude Gooden in his career. He didn’t get to do it in any of his 2800.2 regular season innings. Gooden’s only opportunity happened in any of the 59 postseason innings he threw.

Can you believe Mets legend Dwight Gooden never won a postseason game?

Gooden made his postseason debut for the 1986 Mets in the NLCS. In two brilliant starts versus the Houston Astros, he came away with a no-decision and a loss. He was far less effective in the World Series, losing both of his starts to the Boston Red Sox.

Gooden was a young man at the time. He had his whole career ahead of him. Although his team did win it all in 1986 and they wouldn’t have been there without him, his first year pitching in the playoffs didn’t include any wins on his stat sheet.

Neither did the next trip. Or any others after.

Gooden would make playoff appearances in 1988 with the Mets, 1997 with the New York Yankees, 1998 with the Cleveland Indians, and again in 2000 with the Yankees. The results were often mixed. It wasn’t until a 1998 start versus the Yankees while with Cleveland that he would factor into another decision. As you already know by now, it was a loss.

In 9 starts, 3 relief appearances, and five different trips to the playoffs, Gooden was 0-4. It wasn’t as if he was pitching horribly either. His postseason ERA finished at 3.97. It’s certainly respectable enough to come away with a win eventually.

That wouldn’t be in the cards for Gooden. Neither would be pitching in the 2000 World Series against the Mets. Used exclusively in relief in the ALDS and ALCS in games where the Yankees were trailing, Gooden wouldn’t get the opportunity for any World Series redemption long after his most recent appearance all the way back in 1986.

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Let the record show Gooden was 0-4 in his postseason career and 0-2 in the World Series alone. The baseball gods did smile upon him in one regard. He came away with three rings: 1986 Mets, 1996 and 2000 Yankees. To go 0-2 in a pair of appearances and have three championship rings to your name ain’t so bad.