Card of the Week: 1991 Doc Gooden

1991 SCORE DOC GOODEN

Pictured is a 1991 Score Doc Gooden “The Franchise” card. It is card number 866 and part of the regular set. The back of the card features a couple of quotes about Gooden by then Cubs General Manager Jim Frey including, “…he can change the mood of the team all by himself” and “everything he does has special qualities.” The card also provides some highlights from Gooden’s 1990 season, noting that he had obtained 19 victories and 223 strikeouts. Gooden’s card is worth about .05 cents.

In 1990, Score put out a 900 card set in two series. His designation as the team’s franchise player should not be confused with Tom Seaver’s nickname, “The Franchise” because included in the second series of the set were franchise player cards for each of the Major League teams. Gooden was their choice for the New York Mets. It is interesting to note that Gooden is called, “Doc” and not “Dwight” on this card which was, by this point in his career, his preference. It is also interesting to note some of the other franchise player cards from the set who had or eventually would have some association with the Mets: Rickey Henderson, John Olerud, Darryl Strawberry, Len Dysktra, and Todd Zeile.

By this point in Gooden’s career, he had won a Rookie-of-the-Year, the Cy Young Award, the National League’s triple crown of pitching, and a World Championship. He also had his own “K” corner at Shea Stadium, been to the All-Star Game four times, been arrested once in Tampa during the off-season (in 1986), lost his teammate Strawberry to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and had a serious shoulder injury. At this point in his career, Gooden had established a won-loss record of 119-46.

Gooden, of course, left the Mets as a free agent after the 1994 season. His final appearance in front of his fans was on September 28, 2008 when he and thousands of faithful followers both said their goodbyes to Shea Stadium.