Doc’s former rehab outfit: Love to help

THE BULLPEN of support behind Doc Gooden runs deep.

A day after the Yankees vowed to help the beloved former hurler if he needs a hand dealing with substance abuse, another blast from the pitcher’s past stepped up to the plate.

Chris Smithers, president of the Smithers Foundation, where Gooden was first treated for a cocaine problem in 1987, reached out via the Daily News Wednesday to let Gooden know he can come in for an evaluation or treatment, at no cost.

“I want to be clear in saying that I don’t know if he needs treatment,” Smithers told The News. “If he just wants to come in for an evaluation to show people he doesn’t have a problem, we’re there for him. Either way, it would be a win-win for him.”

Smithers said he felt compelled to make the offer, in part because of his family’s history with Gooden.

He said his mother, Adele, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, established a strong, caring relationship with Gooden when he underwent treatment during his playing days.

Apparently the feeling is mutual, according to Gooden’s longtime confidant, Ray Negron, who said he might convince the Cy Young winner to take Smithers up on his offer.

“Out of respect to Adele, I think he would want to do it,” Negron said Wednesday.

A frail-looking Gooden repeatedly denied this week he has resumed using cocaine, after his former teammate Darryl Strawberry raised concerns about his health.

Smithers thinks Strawberry, who was also treated for a drug problem at the facility during his playing days, was wrong in the way he went about trying to help his pal.

“I don’t think that’s the way we want to treat people who are sick,” Smithers said.

“I don’t really feel that he has been portrayed well, and, either way, we want him to come out of this as a winner,” he added. “He’s a guy who added a lot to New York during his playing days, and we want him to get back to being thought of as that superstar that he was.”