Doc Gooden Arrested Again On DUI Charge

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Dwight "Doc" Gooden was reportedly arrested in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday night and charged with driving under the influence.

It's the Mets great's second arrest in the past two months. On June 7, he was charged in Holmdel, New Jersey, with cocaine possession and driving under the influence.

In Gooden's latest brush with the law, police say they saw the 54-year-old Cy Young Award winner driving the wrong way down a one-way street just after 11 p.m. in Newark's Ironbound section.

A source told the New York Post that Gooden had "pee'd himself" and the former baseball star claimed he was diabetic. Gooden told the NY Post Tuesday that he "just found out today" that he was a diabetic. Gooden was then taken to University Hospital for observation.

Dwight GoodenNewark Department of Public Safety

"It's sad to see the continued problems of this former Mets' star but it's an example of the persistent scourge of drugs and alcohol in this country and the stranglehold they have on addicts," Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said in a news release. 

Gooden spoke to reporters outside of his home in Piscataway, New Jersey, about heading to rehab Wednesday night and the struggles he has had with his life, according to the New York Post. 

“Basically, I’m going away tonight to try to get some help to save my life," he said. "I’m very embarrassed. Very shameful. I feel bad for anybody I disappointed or let down. It’s a struggle -- a hard struggle -- but you have to just jump back in. I’ll be checking in tonight, whatever it takes. This time, I mean, at my age, I’ve been doing this for 30-something years. I never thought I’d see myself at 54 going back to treatment." 

Gooden, who won World Series with the Mets in 1986 and Yankees in 1996, has battled addiction since his playing days. He admitted to missing the Mets' world championship parade in '86 because he was high, and he checked in to rehab months later after failing a drug test. He was suspended for the entire 1995 season after failing another test. And Gooden spent eight months in prison in 2006 for violating his probation by using cocaine. In 2010, he was arrested in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs after he wrecked his car with his 5-year-old son inside.

 

In 2016, Gooden backed out of a WFAN event at the last minute, prompting his former teammate Darryl Strawberry to say he feared for Gooden's life. Gooden insisted then he was not using, although he said he still struggled with the urges. 

Gooden pitched 16 years in the majors for the Mets, Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The right-hander went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA over his career, was selected to four All-Star Games, won National League Rookie of the Year in 1984 and won pitching's triple crown in 1985 by leading the NL in wins (24), ERA (1.53) and strikeouts (268).