The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 02, 1987, Image 11
ooden to be treated for drug use problem are Due 15-0544 >tc8 of Vegeife ansjostaflos tatoes, Chease, fosse )C80(Vege«M ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — wight Gooden, the talented but oubled New York Mets pitcher, greed Wednesday to undergo treat- ent for a “drug use problem” father than be suspended by Com- issioner Peter Ueberroth. The 1985 National League Cy Young award winner probably ■'ould have started on Tuesday when the World Series champions Opened the season against Pitts- lurgh. I Mets General Manager Frank Kashen said Gooden voluntarily look a drug test earlier this week and it gave “some indication of past us- |ge, but the extent is uncertain.” I Edwin Durso, baseball’s secretary- measurer and executive vice presi- aent, said Cashen called Ueberroth 6n Monday and told him “there was a dear indication of a drug prob- Km.” ■ “The commissioner made it per- iiectly clear to the Mets that, consis- tent with past policy, he was pre- Bared to take severe disciplinary felction against Dwight Gooden if the player did not seek an appropriate remedy,” Durso said. ■ Ueberroth, in a statement from ■handler, Ariz., said: “Our policy is ample. If a player is willing to help Rmself, he gets one chance. If he is unwilling to cooperate or a problem Occurs a second time, then we will ‘take the penalty route.” I Ueberroth conditionally sus pended 11 players, among them Keith Hernandez of the Mets, in March 1986 following testimony during drug trials in Pittsburgh. I All 11 were allowed to keep play ing if they donated part of their sal ary to drug programs, performed Ibminunity service and agreed to undergo drug testing. I Gooden agreed to treament fol lowing a 1 ‘/2-hour meeting Wednes day morning with Cashen and Joe Mcllvaine, the club vice president of operations. Rumors involving Gooden, 22, and drugs surfaced last summer af ter the pitcher’s often brilliant out ings became inconsistent. His record dropped from 24-4 in his Cy Young season to 17-6 while his earned run average rose from 1.53 to 2.84. Gooden also struggled through a series of off-the-field incidents. He missed the Mets’ ticker tape parade after winning the World Series and then got into a fight with Tampa po lice in December. The Mets placed Gooden on the 15-day disabled list, and team spokesman Jay Horwitz said, “We don’t know when he’ll be back.” Jim Neader, Gooden’s agent, said Gooden would “go in for an evalua- “Our policy is simple. If a player is willing to help himself, he gets one chance. If he is unwilling to cooperate or a problem occurs a second time, then we will take the penalty route. ” Peter Ueberroth tion soon, probably by the end of the week,” most likely in New York. Neader said Gooden “doesn’t think there is a major problem, but there is a question in his mind. He wants to get it answered. Dwight is feeling positive, he wants to get this taken care of.” Gooden’s father, Dan, said he had “no idea” his son had a drug prob lem. “He said he’d never messed with the stuff,” Dan Gooden told the Tampa Tribune. “I don’t know what to say. It’s kind of stunning.” Cashen told other Mets about Gooden’s problem Wednesday morning before the team left for an exhibition game against Pittsburgh in Bradenton. “The first reaction in the locker room naturally was shock,” Horwitz said, “but you could tell everyone there felt a lot of sympathy and stands behind Dwight 100 percent.” Gooden was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1984 when he jumped from Class A Lynchburg to the majors at age 19. Thursday, April 2,1987TThe Battalion/Page 11 Sports Aggies complete sweep of Eagles Photo by Bill Hughes Texas A&M’s shortstop Ever Magallanes tags out to steal second base. The Aggies finished a sweep North Texas State’s Jesse Ramon as he attempts of the Eagles by winning the final game 9-5. By Hal L. Hammons Sports Writer The Texas A&M baseball team completed its sweep of North Texas State Wednesday af ternoon at Olsen Field with a 9-5 victory. Three Aggie pitchers scattered eight Eagle hits to help raise A&M’s record to 30-12-1. Gary Geiger (6-2) got the win in relief of starter Randy Pryor. Pat Wer- nig got the save. NTSU dropped to 9-27. The A&M offense came from all quarters, as six Aggie batters got more than one hit. Second baseman Terry Taylor hit a pair of doubles, and outfielder Tim McWilliam contributed a double and a triple. A&M Coach Mark Johnson said, “(McWilliam) led our team in hitting in the fall, so he hasn’t shown what he can do yet.” But the star of the show was undoubtedly freshman John Byington. The third baseman got two hits of his own, including a towering home run that cleared the left-center field wall with room to spare. Johnson said about Byington, “The gifts he has came from God, not from coaches or from any body else.” Byington started the offensive show for the Aggies in the second inning. After drawing a walk, he stole second base and then third when he alertly noticed the third baseman talking with the pitcher and nobody covering the base. The first of Taylor’s doubles brought him home for the game’s first score. NTSU tied the score in the fourth inning as first baseman Tony Olivares homered off Pryor, but the Aggies rallied in the sixth to blow open the game. Shortstop Ever Magallanes opened the sixth with a single. Livingstone sacrificed him to sec ond, and Byington singled to move Magallanes to third. Center fielder Chuck Knob lauch grounded into a fielder’s choice that forced Byington at second, but it allowed Magallanes to break the tie. Then with two outs, McWilliam tripled to score Knoblauch, and Taylor brought him home with a double to the left-center field gap. First baseman Jim Neumann followed with an another double to score T aylor. In the seventh, NTSU’s Keith Cullum singled and moved to sec ond on a ground out. Third base- man Jesse Ramon singled to move Cullum to third, and a Magallanes throwing error al lowed Cullum to score. However, the Aggies followed with offense of their own. With two outs, Byington’s home run brought home designated hitter Livingstone, who had singled, and the score was 7-3 Aggies. After two A&M errors allowed another Eagle run in the top half of the eighth, McWilliam doubled and Taylor was struck by a pitch. Neumann bunted the runners along, and right fielder Don Wren’s single brought both home. Eagle DH Danny Suges walked, and Ramon homered to open the ninth, but Wernig set tled down and retired the next three batters for the save. Johnson said he was very pleased with his team’s effort. He said the series, coupled with the three-game sweep of Texas Tech last weekend, will provide some much-needed momentum as the Aggies enter an important home- stand against Baylor this week end. The first game will be at 7 p.m. Friday, and a doubleheader will start at 2 p.m. Saturday. “FREE BOOKS” rry Sauce, GW 1. Buttw I SPECIALS M DAILY 7:00 PM DAW )F MEN! / Beer You could win a $200 voucher to help buy next semester’s textbooks at The TAMU Bookstore, compliments of Lucky Leaf® Apple Sauce! look for entryblanks and the full details at participating Texas A&M campus snack bars. Rich, thick Lucky Leaf® Apple Sauce comes in handy single-serving packs that are just right for snacking, perfect for packing. When it comes to snack food, it’s a natural! No purchase necessary. Offer ends April 10,1987 Texas A&M University Food Services “Quality First” Imagine finding a new love A on your wedding day... NSC OPAS and The Houston Ballet present "La Sylphide", the story of a young bridegroom who awakens on his wedding day in the presence of a slender, graceful young woman (a sylph). He discovers he is in love with the sylphide as his young bride-to- be prepares for the ceremony. Festive guests are arriving, including a fortune-telling hag whb prophesies that he will not marry his betrothed. "La Sylphide" will be performed by the Houston Ballet, Thursday, April 9 in Ruddier Auditorium at 8 p.m. The Houston Ballet performance marks the end of the NSC Opera and Performing Arts Society's four teenth season. Great seats are still available for this beautiful, suspenseful drama. To find out how the love triangle unfurls, order your tickets at the NSC Box Office today. VISA and MasterCard call 845-1234. v lemorial Student Center • Texas A6r v l l ni\ersit> • Box I I • College Station T\ 77844-9081