Mets To Retire Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry’s Numbers In 2024

Continuing a recent surge in number retirements, the New York Mets announced last Thursday that they plan to retire No. 16 and No. 18 in honor of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry during the 2024 season. The two were stars of the Mets at their peak in the 1980s, and though both struggled later in their careers, they proved integral in New York’s run to the 1986 World Series.

Between 1967 and 2016, the Mets retired just five numbers, but since 2021, the team has retired three and will add Gooden and Strawberry next year. They will join former teammate Keith Hernandez (No. 17), Jerry Koosman (No. 36) and Willie Mays (No. 24) in a group of recent honorees. Those join Mike Piazza (No. 31, retired in 2016), Jackie Robinson (No. 42, retired throughout MLB in 1997), Tom Seaver (No. 41, retired in 1988), Gil Hodges (No. 14, retired in 1973) and Casey Stengel (No. 37, retired in 1965).

Gooden, a righthanded pitcher who debuted at age 19 in 1984, became a household name immediately after earning a 17-9 record and 276 strikeouts in his rookie year and finished second in NL Cy Young Award voting. He left no doubt in 1985 with a 24-4 record, 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts to win the award unanimously. He remained highly effective in 1986, the year the Mets won the World Series.

Strawberry debuted one year before Gooden, earning NL Rookie of the Year honors in 1983 after batting .257 with 26 home runs. The star outfielder made it to the All-Star Game eight straight times between 1984 and 1991, and though he was a key contributor in 1986, he got even better as the decade progressed. In 1988, a heartbreaking year in which the Mets fell to the Dodgers in the NLCS, Strawberry batted .267 with 39 home runs and finished second in NL MVP voting.

In addition to coming up as young stars during the Mets’ strongest era, the two also share several unfortunate similarities in their later careers. Both had widely publicized struggles with drug addiction, which they grappled with throughout the 1980s but did not have to fully reckon with until later on. Issues off the field derailed both players and led them to regress dramatically soon after they left New York. Despite brilliant performances early in their careers, it is unlikely that either one will be voted into the Hall of Fame.

Regardless of their issues off the field, however, Gooden and Strawberry are still remembered in overwhelmingly positive terms by Mets fans. Along with the likes of Hernandez and Gary Carter, they are hailed as overwhelmingly significant contributors to one of the franchise’s two World Series titles. Their number of retirement ceremonies may be part of a larger effort by the team to honor its past in recent years, but there are few Mets more deserving.

Article by Patrick Moquin