Long before he got involved in the unfortunate underbelly of drug use, former Major League pitcher Dwight Gooden was once considered a phenom in New York.
He won 17 games as a rookie for the Mets back in 1984 before earning the National League Cy Young the following season. Then, in 1986, Doc played a huge role in the team’s surprise World Series title.
While he did have a few more solid seasons at Shea, Gooden’s career took a turn due to drug addiction.
Even then, he seems to be an authority on what it takes to make it in the big leagues as a player. It’s in this that the now 51-year-old former pitcher has some pretty strong things to say about Tim Tebow’s transition to baseball.
When speaking with Dr. K at Miami Mike’s Sports Zone in New Jersey Wednesday night, Gooden did praise Tebow for knocking a homer in his first at-bat as a member of the Mets’ instructional league team.
“Amazing. Only downside to that — it’s downhill from there,” Gooden said. “You don’t get any better.”
Gooden also added that he would have absolutely dominated Tebow during the height of his career.
“I’m a Tim Tebow fan, don’t get me wrong, but he wouldn’t have a chance. In my prime, I think I would eat him alive.”
Making the transition from NFL quarterback (if you want to call it that), the former Heisman winner homered in his first at-bat with the Mets’ instructional league team on Wednesday.
It was actually pretty awesome.
Tim Tebow goes yard on the first pitch he sees as a professional baseball player 😳🔥 pic.twitter.com/aFkZ35wlFG
— Baseball Lifestyle™ (@BsbLifestyle__) September 28, 2016
But something does tell us that Doc isn’t exactly wrong. Here’s a dude that put up a 24-4 record with a 1.53 ERA as a second-year player in the Majors.
That’s a bit different than taking a lefty out of the park in an instructional league game.