Dwight Gooden
I love the fans and I appreciate how much they care for me.
If you can get an out on one pitch, take it. Let the strikeouts come on the outstanding pitches. Winning is the big thing. If you throw a lot of pitches, before you know it, your arm is gone.
You got the ball in your hands and you're in command, and if you get your good pitch where you want it, nobody's gonna hit you.
Plus, when you get in tough situations, like the bases loaded and nobody out, you never give in.
I've done enough wrong on my own, I don't want to get blamed for something I didn't do.
One of the nicest satisfactions you can have is to be able to give something back to your parents when they've given so much to you.
When I went back to Shea last year it really hit me how much the fans care for me, it still gives me goose bumps. I want to do the right thing for them and my family.
I figured that pitchers had a better chance of getting drafted than fielders, so I decided I should be a pitcher. But I never expected to be picked in the first round. I wasn't even sure I'd get picked at all.
The day I pitched, I would drink either 'cause I was celebrating or I lost and couldn't sleep.
My first year in baseball, there were only one or two reporters. My second year, I got to the Triple-A playoffs, there were four or five. When I came up in 1984, I never saw so many people.
My father helped me become a ballplayer and take the good with the bad.
He makes it look easy. You wish there was another league he could get called up to.Collection: Sports
I'm glad I don't have to face that guy (Don Mattingly) every day. He has that look that few hitters have. I don't know if it's his stance, his eyes or what, but you can tell he means business.Collection: Mean
I don't care how much money he (Frank Viola) makes. He can have my locker, I'll take him to all the best restaurants and show him New York. He can even have my wife, but he can't have my number, no way.Collection: New York
I don't feel any pressure. I just try to stay calm, follow my game plan, and try not to get overthrown.Collection: Games