During the 1980s, New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden and outfielder Darryl Strawberry were always connected. Now, their legacies with the team will be immortalized together when the Mets retire their baseball jerseys this upcoming season.
The Major League Baseball team has announced that two of their brightest stars will be recognized for their contributions to the game in the coming months. Gooden will have his No. 16 retired on April 14, while Strawberry will get the same treatment for his No. 18 uniform on June 1. Both ceremonies will occur at the Mets’ home stadium, Citi Field.
“It’s the highest honor you can get from a team,” Gooden said in a written statement. “I know for myself … even when I was with the Yankees, I always considered myself a Met. I always wanted to retire as a Met. … I can’t thank [owners] Steve and Alex [Cohen] and the board enough to give me this great honor I can share with my teammates, the fans, and my family. I’m looking forward to this day. It’s the greatest honor I can achieve in baseball.”
Gooden will be the ninth, and Strawberry will be the 10th player to have their jerseys hanging from the rafters. They join Willie Mays, Keith Hernandez, Jerry Koosman, Mike Piazza, Jackie Robinson, Tom Seaver, Gil Hodges, and Casey Stengel.
“We had an opportunity to be young players and come up through
the farm system, develop and become the type of players that we were … in the city that is very tough to play in, said Strawberry. “I’m so glad that we had an opportunity to play in New York City in the National League at Shea Stadium. I wouldn’t trade it in for anything. … To be able to have this honor … your number is going to be retired, and that’s forever, it’s bigger than going into the [Baseball] Hall of Fame.”The former players had the distinction of playing for both New York teams, as each also played with the New York Yankees.
Gooden wore the Mets uniform from 1984 to 1994, while Strawberry donned the blue, white, and orange from 1983 to 1990.
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