|
|
|
Almost three decades later, Dwight Gooden is coming back to Little Falls.
The former New York Mets and New York Yankees star will be the featured speaker at the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs’ annual Hall of Fame dinner banquet in January. Tickets for the event went on sale Thursday to coincide with general manager Travis Heiser’s announcement that Gooden would follow Tommy John and Howard Johnson as the dinner’s keynote speaker.
Gooden, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, won 194 Major League games over parts of 16 seasons in the 1980s and 90s with the Mets, Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner as a 20-year-old when he won 24 games in 1985 and helped the Mets win the World Series the following season.
Before joining the Mets as a 19-year-old and winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1984, Gooden made a quick pass through the Mohawk Valley. The fifth overall pick out of high school in Major League Baseball’s 1982 entry draft, Gooden began his professional career in Kingsport, Tenn. He pitched nine games in the Rookie-level Appalachian League before the Mets promoted him to their New York-Penn League affiliate in Little Falls. While with the 1982 Little Falls Mets, Gooden started two games, both on the road, and lost his only decision. His pitching line in Little Falls shows a 4.15 ERA with 18 strikeouts and three walks in 13 innings.
The DiamondDawgs’ hot stove dinner will be held Jan. 21 at the Knights Inn. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. and Gooden will have an autograph session beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dinner and a live auction will follow and the evening wraps up with the third Mohawk Valley Baseball Hall of Fame induction. Inductees joining coaches Ted Schoff and Craig Phillips, former Major League pitcher Roger Weaver and Little Falls High School’s 1982 state championship team will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the dinner are available for $40 each for adults, $20 for children 12 and under, and $275 for a table of eight. They may be purchased by going to www.mydiamonddawgs.com and printing out a reservation form or by emailing travis@mydiamonddawgs.com.
Compiled From Times Staff Reports
Almost three decades later, Dwight Gooden is coming back to Little Falls.
The former New York Mets and New York Yankees star will be the featured speaker at the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs’ annual Hall of Fame dinner banquet in January. Tickets for the event went on sale Thursday to coincide with general manager Travis Heiser’s announcement that Gooden would follow Tommy John and Howard Johnson as the dinner’s keynote speaker.
Gooden, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, won 194 Major League games over parts of 16 seasons in the 1980s and 90s with the Mets, Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was the National League’s Cy Young Award winner as a 20-year-old when he won 24 games in 1985 and helped the Mets win the World Series the following season.
Before joining the Mets as a 19-year-old and winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1984, Gooden made a quick pass through the Mohawk Valley. The fifth overall pick out of high school in Major League Baseball’s 1982 entry draft, Gooden began his professional career in Kingsport, Tenn. He pitched nine games in the Rookie-level Appalachian League before the Mets promoted him to their New York-Penn League affiliate in Little Falls. While with the 1982 Little Falls Mets, Gooden started two games, both on the road, and lost his only decision. His pitching line in Little Falls shows a 4.15 ERA with 18 strikeouts and three walks in 13 innings.
The DiamondDawgs’ hot stove dinner will be held Jan. 21 at the Knights Inn. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. and Gooden will have an autograph session beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dinner and a live auction will follow and the evening wraps up with the third Mohawk Valley Baseball Hall of Fame induction. Inductees joining coaches Ted Schoff and Craig Phillips, former Major League pitcher Roger Weaver and Little Falls High School’s 1982 state championship team will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the dinner are available for $40 each for adults, $20 for children 12 and under, and $275 for a table of eight. They may be purchased by going to www.mydiamonddawgs.com and printing out a reservation form or by emailing travis@mydiamonddawgs.com.
Compiled From Times Staff Reports
