It’s easy to forget Doc Gooden was only 31 when he signed with the Yankees prior to the 1996 season. He broke in with the Mets at age 19 and was a sensation. George Steinbrenner wanted a 19-year-old stud of his own, which led to Jose Rijo being brought up in 1984, but that didn’t work out too well. Gooden was a star in the 1980s and the Mets were the toast of New York.
By 1990 things had turned south for the Mets and Gooden. He had drug problems and got hurt, and his performance suffered.