HEADLINE

Gooden arrested again, latest for drunk driving

Field Level Media

July 23, 2019 at 8:44 pm.

Former major league pitcher Dwight Gooden was arrested in Newark, N.J., on Monday night and charged with driving while intoxicated, according to a press release issued by the Newark Department of Public Safety.

Gooden, 54, was stopped while driving a 2012 black Chrysler in the wrong direction on a one-way street at approximately 11:10 p.m. ET. Gooden was arrested and taken to University Hospital for evaluation.

It is the second time in six-plus weeks that Gooden, a former star for the New York Mets, was arrested. He also faces cocaine possession charges from an arrest in Holmdel, N.J., on June 7.

“I just like to thank everyone for their support in this horrible struggle,” Gooden wrote in a text to Newsday.

“My apologies to everyone I let down or disappointed. I deserve everything that’s being written/talked about me . . . I have no excuse for my action so I am going away for a while to try and save my life. I really don’t know who I am right now and definitely don’t trust myself. This is the worst I’ve ever been through all my struggles. But I am going to keep fighting no matter how embarrassing, shameful or selfish I am feeling.”

Gooden is due to appear in Newark Municipal Court next Tuesday per the drunk-driving arrest, according to published reports.

“It’s sad to see the continued problems of this former Mets’ star but it’s an example of the persistent scourge of drugs and alcohol in this country and the stranglehold they have on addicts,” Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said in the press release.

Gooden is slated to appear in court on the cocaine charges on Sept. 5 in Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold, N.J. He was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The former star has long been plagued by drug issues.

Gooden tested positive for cocaine in 1987 when he was a major star for the Mets. He missed the entire 1995 season after being suspended for another failed drug test.

In 2006, Gooden spent eight months in prison after showing up under the influence of a controlled substance at a meeting with his probation officer. Four years later, he was arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance in New Jersey with his 5-year-old son in the car.

Gooden went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA in 16 seasons. He was a four-time All-Star — all in his first five seasons.

Gooden won the National League Cy Young Award at age 20 in his second big league season when he went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and had eight shutouts for the Mets in 1985.

He spent 11 seasons with the Mets. After his year-long suspension, he spent time with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Houston Astros.

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