The New York Mets are adding two more numbers to the rafters at Citi Field. Next season, they will officially retire No. 16 for Dwight Gooden and No. 18 for Darryl Strawberry, the team announced Thursday. There's no word just yet on a ceremony, but Saturday day games usually work well with this type of thing.
"I'm thrilled that two iconic members of the 1986 championship club will have their numbers retired in 2024," Mets owner Steve Cohen said in a statement. "Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden each had an enormous impact on our franchise and it's my honor to continue our commitment to celebrating our wonderful history."
The Mets' list of retired numbers will now be:
- 14 - Gil Hodges
- 16 - Dwight Gooden
- 17 - Keith Hernandez
- 18 - Darryl Strawberry
- 24 - Willie Mays
- 31 - Mike Piazza
- 36 - Jerry Koosman
- 37 - Casey Stengel
- 41 - Tom Seaver
- 42 - Jackie Robinson (MLB-wide retired)
Gooden arrived like an explosion in 1984, striking out 276 hitters in 218 innings, winning the Rookie of the Year and earning the nickname "Doctor K." It was so widely known that he was colloquially known as Doc Gooden. The next year, he had one of the best pitching seasons in baseball history, going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA (229 ERA+!), 0.97 WHIP and 268 strikeouts in 276 2/3 innings. In 35 starts, he had 16 complete games and eight shutouts. He had 12.2 WAR! He won the Cy Young unanimously. A year later, he was the ace of the staff on the World Series champion 1986 Mets.
In 11 seasons with the Mets, Gooden went 157-85 with a 3.10 ERA. He struck out 1,875 and he sits third in career WAR amassed for the Mets behind Tom Seaver and David Wright.
Strawberry won Rookie of the Year in 1983 and finished as MVP runner-up in 1988, when he clubbed 39 homers with 101 RBI and led the league with a .545 slugging percentage. He also led in OPS and OPS+. A remarkably consistent slugger, he hit between 26 and 39 home runs in each of his eight years with the Mets. He made seven All-Star teams in his time there and also finished third in MVP voting in 1990. An important middle-order hitter on the World Series champs in '86, he hit fifth throughout that playoff run and homered in Game 7 of the World Series.
In his seven years with the Mets, Strawberry hit .263/.359/.520 (145 OPS+) with 252 homers and 733 RBI in addition to 191 steals. He sits sixth on the Mets WAR leaderboard behind Seaver, Wright, Gooden, Jacob deGrom and Jerry Koosman.
