Someone sent me this picture of Doc Gooden and Joe Montana and they said that they should have been the very best. I told them that I wonder what game they were watching because Doc and Montana at one time were the ultimate in greatness.
I once did research for George Steinbrenner to find out the difference in attendance at Shea Stadium when Gooden pitched as opposed to when the 4 other great Mets pitchers were throwing. The difference was phenomenal. Mr. Steinbrenner wanted to know because at the time he was considering signing Gooden when Doc had been suspended from baseball.
I remember the Boss saying that 2 starts and I already made my money back. That plus the fact that Mr. Steinbrenner had a great fascination for Gooden. At one point Gooden would literally be like a son to the Boss. He did things for Gooden that he didn’t do for any other player with the exception of Thurman Munson and Lou Piniella.
Over on the West Coast, you had Joe Montana. He was cool as Coolaid and he had a wonderful relationship with the fans. In the immortal words of many… The men wanted to be Montana and the women wanted to be with him.
You wanted to watch the 49s because he was the quarterback that day.
In those days the kids that loved both baseball and football would wear numbers 16. Ironically the number of both of their heroes.
It’s great that today you can go watch the 49s and the Mets look at the rafters and see numbers 16 hanging high.
No matter what we must congratulate these two incredible icons for their success and dedication to fans around the world especially those kids that will grow up and find out about these amazing athletes and men.
