Heroes, sometimes, are right in front of us and we don’t realize it. The everyday takes extraordinary strength.
Dwight Gooden is realizing that in many ways.
Black History Month is such an important time for our country. The past needs to be put in perspective. Not just history-making moments, like Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball but the everyday acts of courage and encouragement.
Considering all that, here is what Gooden told BallNine about his own life growing up.
Yes, we all know Gooden has lived a life of ups and downs, winning a World Series with the Mets at 21 years old and later in his career pitching a no-hitter with the Yankees.
Drugs and alcohol abuse haunted him. He knows the mistakes he has made but he also knows how blessed he is to be at this point in his life with his children and grandchildren.
Here at BallNine, The Story is not just about success. There is failure too. And often it is about plain old survival. That’s the challenge. Dwight Gooden is a survivor. And today, at the age of 56, he is one thankful man.
“Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby over in the American League, Hank Aaron, all that he accomplished, I agree that they should all be honored but for me, Black History Month really is about family,’’ Gooden told me.
“Me personally, when I think about Black History Month now, I think about my parents and the sacrifices they made to raise our family.’’
Both of Gooden’s parents had to quit school after third grade to work.
“My family is originally from Georgia, a small town called Americus, Georgia and Cordele, Georgia, where it was dirt roads and everybody grew their own vegetables,’’ Gooden began. “You have your chickens there, you have your hogs, your cows and every summer we used to go back there and find out from my aunts and uncles about my parents and what it was like for them growing up.
“When I think about my parents I think about what they went through. My dad had only that third-grade education, same for my mom, and at that time they had to go to school at a church. After the third grade my dad had to quit school and work, picking pecans to help his family and raise the chickens and all that stuff. My dad had to teach himself and educate himself. He was self-taught on everything.
“When my family moved from Georgia to Tampa – that’s where I was born in Tampa – and that’s where my dad taught me the game of baseball, as well as my nephew Gary.’’
That nephew would be Gary Sheffield, who went on to play 22 years in the majors, hit 509 home runs, bat .292 and put up a lifetime .907 OPS. Gooden lasted 16 years in the majors.
Dan Gooden taught two superstars how to play baseball. Imagine that. Dwight Gooden, one of the game’s best pitchers of his time and Gary Sheffield, one of the best hitters, can thank Dan Gooden for their unique skills.
Another GREAT Keenan article.
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