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Super Star
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
For pitcher Roger Clemens, life couldn't get much sweeter. After pitching in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, Clemens gets to sit back and decide which, if any, of the four teams panting after him like high school boys after the town beauty queen he wishes to sign with, and pitch for, the remainder of the season. He could sign with anyone except Houston immediately, or he could choose to wait until May 1 and sign with anyone, including the Astros. Or, and he has hinted this might be his choice, he could make a decision around the All-Star Break about who he will pitch for.
Life is a little different, though for former major-league pitcher Dwight Gooden. He spends his time in a jail cell, looking at hard time in prison after admitting to violating his parole by using cocaine. He has been in and out of trouble for years, having retired in 2000 after a career that flamed out due to injuries, drugs and hard living.
The two pitchers couldn't be more different. Gooden is a tall, slim black man who came to the major leagues in 1984 via the streets of Tampa, while Clemens is a tall, stocky white man who followed up on a stellar career at the University of Texas by also debuting in the majors in 1984.
For all their differences, the two pitchers followed a remarkably similar path for years after beginning their big league careers. Gooden made his first appearance for the New York Mets on April 7, 1984, 38 days before Clemens threw his first pitch, for Boston on May 15 of that year. A comparison of their statistics through the first seven years of their careers shows just how remarkably their paths were intertwined. Here is how each pitcher averages out per season for those first seven years:
----------------W-------L--------IP------ERA-------BB-------K
Clemens-------17-------7------216------2.89-------61------203
Gooden--------17-------6------218------2.82-------64------199
That is, for all intents and purposes, where their careers start to diverge, and nine years later, Gooden was out of baseball for good while Clemens was enjoying the beginnings of the third decade (eighties, nineties, and 00's) of his brilliant career. Here are the totals for the remainder of their careers after 1991.
-----------------W-------L-------IP-------ERA-------BB--------K
Clemens-------225----121----3191------3.23-----1095------3078
Gooden---------75-----66-----1277-----4.32-------505-------902
This can be a tale of comparison between Clemens and Gooden, two pitchers who seemed destined for the Hall of Fame based on their first seven seasons, or a tale of comparison between the pre-1991 Dwight Gooden and the post-1991 Gooden. In either case, it becomes clear that tremendous potential was left only partially fulfilled.
For baseball fans, this is the best time of year. Every team is undefeated, and everyone has dreams of the postseason. Take a moment to remember Doc Gooden, who had it all it seemed, and now has just time behind bars.