National League Standings, September 21, 1985
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE SEPTEMBER 21, 1985 GAME:
Charlie Hacker
June 24, 2006
Have a friend who recalls watching Gooden go deep on Rick Rhoden. In recent years we would see Mr. Rhoden playing a Champions Tour golf tournament in Des Moines, Ia (we are from Sioux City, Ia).
Each year we would be near the practice green as Rick would be there preparing for his round. My friend would say to me he would like to ask Mr. Rhoden what pitch he threw to Gooden when he homered off of him. But he never did.
I always wondered if indeed what he told me was true so I did a little research and lo and behold came across this site to find out it was true indeed.
So do any of you out there know what type of pitch he threw?
Ed K
January 9, 2007
I don't know the pitch he hit, but it was Gooden's first homer in the major leagues.
Hank M
March 2, 2009
This was the game in which Dwight Gooden hit his first major league home run. It was a 3-run blast that came on Rick Rhoden's first pitch, capping a 7-run inning. Rafael Santana had just doubled in a run to keep the inning alive for Doc to come to the plate.
The ball Gooden hit was to left field, backing R. J. Reynolds against the wall. Reynolds jumped for it, but it was gone. As Dwight approached first base, he high-fived Bill Robinson before going into his circular trot.
Later in the game, Gooden singled. Showing him on first base, SportsChannel displayed his AVG- HR-RBI totals for the season with the number 1 below the 'HR'. This is something normally done only for a player's first plate appearance of the game. Since it was so late in the season, the cable station may have figured it might not cover another game Dwight pitched that year. It probably wanted to show his stats containing a homer while it had the chance.
Michael
January 9, 2011
The ball Gooden hit for the homer was off of a hanging breaking ball (not sure if it was a curve or slider...but DEFINITELY a hanger)
NYB Buff
October 11, 2023
A great day for the Mets with eighteen hits in a rout of the Pirates during a pennant race. Dwight Gooden, as usual in '85, pitched extremely well. He also hit his first major league homer and singled twice to drive in four runs. The three hits gave Gooden twenty for the season to set a record for Mets pitchers. Dwight would get his 21st hit five days later.
Other Mets had memorable games, too. Wally Backman had four hits with three RBIs, Rafael Santana collected three hits and scored three runs, and Howard Johnson was just a home run short of hitting for the cycle.
One special note on the game is that Rusty Staub (batting for Gooden in the eighth inning) singled for the 2,716th and last hit of his career. It was also Staub's 100th hit as a pinch-hitter.
Now it's your turn! Tell us what you remember of this game:
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