Former New York Mets ace Dwight Gooden will be inducted into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s “Hall of Game” on Sept. 9 in Kansas City.
The Hall made the announcement that five pitchers would be inducted — Gooden, Vida Blue, Al Downing, Dwight Gooden, Mike Norris and Dontrelle Willis.
The pitchers are part of a group called the “Black Aces,” a term coined by former Major League pitcher Jim “Mudcat” Grant. The term is used to describe the 15 African-American pitchers that have won at least 20 games in an MLB season. Grant was the first to accomplish the feat in 1965.
A dinner and induction ceremony will be held at Kansas City’s Gem Theater. This is the first Hall of Game class to be inducted since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to last year’s Buck O’Neil Hall of Fame Celebration.
Gooden won 24 games in his incredible 1985 season with the Mets, his second in the Majors. In his age 20 season, Gooden went 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA, throwing 16 complete games and striking out 268 to win pitching’s triple crown. He was an All-Star for the second time, won his only NL Cy Young and finished fourth in MVP voting.
In 11 seasons with the Mets he went 157-85 with a 3.10 ERA, striking out 1,875 and walking 651. He was an All-Star four times with the Mets and helped them win the 1986 World Series. He won a Silver Slugger with the Mets in 1992 and is a member of the Mets Hall of Fame.
He pitched 16 seasons and appeared with the New York Yankees, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Houston. He had a career record of 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA, with 2,293 strikeouts and 954 walks.
He was the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year, won two World Series rings with the New York Yankees and threw a no-hitter in 1996.
More must-reads: