AT DEATH’S DOOR STEP
Gaunt Gooden a ghost of himself as he slams Straw, pals’ claims he’s killing self
PLUS: DOC’S TEAMMATES DIVIDED
Darryl doubles down on help offer
A RAIL-THIN and frail Doc Gooden denied Monday that he has a drug problem — instead hurling insults at his former teammate Darryl Strawberry for trying to stage a public intervention.
The beloved former Mets pitcher — furious at Strawberry’s claim on the front page of the Daily News that Gooden was “a complete junkie-addict” — insisted he hadn’t relapsed on cocaine.
“Unfortunately it’s no friendship (and) bad judgment on my part thinking it was,” Gooden, 51, told The News. “(Never) once lied or said anything negative about him to the media, but teammates and people who really know us (know) who’s real and who’s counterfeit.”
Then Gooden threw a high, hard one at his former teammate.
“We’d been close, especially since ’86. I always thought we’d be brothers. But I was wrong. It hurts — I don’t understand why friends would do such hurtful things.”
In a separate radio interview on “The Joe Piscopo Show,” Gooden said recent health issues — not a drug bender — had prevented him from attending a public appearance with Strawberry.
“I am healthy. I don’t have a drug problem. I mean, I am an addict . . . that don’t mean I’m an active addict,” he said.
Outside his Jersey City apartment, the gaunt ex-Met insisted his struggles with drug addiction hadn’t resurfaced.
“I’m doing fine. There’s a lot more to the story than you’d think,” said Gooden, who is 6-feet-2 and weighed a healthy 190 pounds in his playing days.
Strawberry had said he didn’t think Gooden weighed “150 pounds soaking-wet right now.”
“All you have to do is look at him physically and you know he’s got a serious problem,” Strawberry said when informed of Gooden’s comments.
“I would only be offended if it was something true that he said. I love him. He’s an addict.”
“When you don’t have a purpose this is what you do. He’s not ‘Dr. K’ anymore — people need to get past that. He’s an addict. He’s a drug addict. That’s what he is.”
In an open letter published by The News on Monday, Gooden’s ex-girlfriend Janice Roots wrote: “When will you stop blaming people for your abominable addiction behaviors?”
Wearing black gym shorts, socks and a white Gooden tank top, the former pitcher insisted, “I’m doing good. Unfortunately, I just have to deal with this mess. It happens.”
He later released a statement slamming Strawberry for his “inability to show character and
strength.” Gooden said he had been a loyal friend to Strawberry — and was hurt and angry that his friend was turning on him now. “I had never failed to be there for (him). I don’t do cocaine and have not for years,” his statement said. Of Roots, Gooden said, “She was homeless when I brought her in. I just don’t understand it.” His denial contradicts Strawberry, Roots and even Gooden’s own children, who have said the exhurler has been in a drug-induced downward spiral since January 2014, exacerbated by the death last month of his mother. Strawberry’s urgent concern for Gooden emerged after the exoutfielder said he felt no choice but to speak publicly about his friend’s self-destructive behavior.
One person, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The News he was at Gooden’s apartment Thursday when he was scheduled to make an appearance with Strawberry at a WFAN event hosted by Joe Benigno. Instead, the person said, Gooden locked himself in the bedroom and wouldn’t come out despite pleas from three of his adult children.
Gooden’s son Dwight Gooden Jr. released a statement on behalf of his siblings thanking Strawberry, fans and others for their concern. “His problems have been well-documented and publicized through the years. At this time, our only concern is his health and that he takes care of himself,” he said.
“We, as a family, are currently planning his best course of action and thank you all for your concern, messages and prayers.”
Doc Gooden didn’t address his kids’ concerns — but made clear he felt Strawberry had crossed a line. “Guess he forgot I am the one who (sent) him $$$ like he was one of my kids when he was in prison and his family gave up on him,” Gooden texted a News reporter.
Strawberry’s own struggles with addiction landed him behind bars in the early 2000s for violating probation on cocaine possession charges.