Dwight Gooden reaches no jail plea deal in drug possession case
HOLMDEL, New Jersey (WABC) -- Pitching great Dwight "Doc" Gooden, who won three World Series titles with New York teams, reached a no jail plea deal Wednesday in connection with his arrest for possession of cocaine during a June traffic stop in New Jersey.
Gooden pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of cocaine, one day ahead of a scheduled court date.
He must also complete a court ordered drug treatment program. If he does so, he will avoid jail time.
He will be sentenced on November 1.
Two weeks after the June cocaine arrest in Holmdel, he was arrested again for DWI while driving the wrong way on a Newark street.
The status of that case is unknown.
Gooden, now 54, won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1984 and the NL Cy Young in 1985 as a member of the Mets, before helping the team win their second World Series in 1986.
He was then sent to rehab after failing a drug test, and his potentially Hall-of-Fame career was derailed by drug and alcohol addiction and accompanying legal troubles.
He pitched a no hitter for the Yankees in 1996, and the team would go on win the World Series that year.
He then made stops in Cleveland, Houston and Tampa Bay over the next four seasons before returning to the Bronx Bombers in 2000 for another championship.
He was suspended for the 1995 season after failing a drug test, and he served seven months in prison in 2006 after violating his probation.
He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2010.
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