The most famous music group of the Disco era was known as the BeeGees.
If you ever saw Saturday Night Fever then you know that they took the music world by storm.
Before that the BeeGees did a masterpiece of a song called How do you mend a broken heart.
The melody and lyrics are explicit and beautiful.
However, the sadness of the song is just too real.
At this stage in life, I can’t help but think of Doc Gooden when I listen to the deep words in the song.
How do you mend a broken heart, how do you stop the rain from falling down.
The song also says… Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again!
Doc Gooden has had the highest of the highs… Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award, and World Series Champion. Doc Gooden has also had the lowest of the lows… Drug suspensions, prison, the deaths of his beloved parents and wonderful friends including his catcher Gary Carter, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyer, and the man that would give Doc multiple second chances, George Steinbrenner.
A great lady by the name of Adele Smithers from America’s First true drug rehabilitation facility The Smithers Foundation always said that drug addiction is a disease just like cancer etc.
She was the person that actually convinced Mr. Steinbrenner of the fact. Through her teachings, he developed the compassion for always extending his hand to Doc Gooden.
What people don’t understand is that through many of Doc’s actions … both positive and negative… the examples of these actions have literally helped many people dealing with the disease of addiction just because he is Doc Gooden. If it can happen to him then it can happen to me. On some of his darkest days, the heart of this man still would help so many in the worst of situations. To the point of giving people his last dollar.
The one thing that you always hear about Doc Gooden is that he is truly one of professional sports all-time great people.
Yesterday I was watching the Doc Gooden Documentary on SNY, the Mets cable network here in New York.
It was a great job by the production team. The one thing that they couldn’t hide was the fact that Doc is still desperately fighting his broken heart. When they showed the pictures of Stottlemyer, Carter, and his Parents… you could feel his sadness, his incredible pain as he would start to cry.
I have to really thank Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen for their compassion for Doc Gooden. For understanding what he has given NewYork and the Mets. For understanding everything that goes with this incredible ride called Major League Baseball, for that matter… called Life!
On April 14 the Mets are retiring Doc Gooden’s uniform number 16. It is a beautiful tribute to Doc. From a sports perspective, he has earned it. However from a life’s perspective and the many people that have had their own issues in life, then this is also an amazing tribute to them too and the fact that they too might also not be forgotten in this sometimes cruel world… they too might be given a second chance.
Doc has to deal with his disease as do so many around the world… One day at a time… However Doc has to also ask himself that question,
How do you mend a broken heart!
