Dwight “Doc” Gooden
Sept. 7, 1984 – New York Mets 10, Chicago Cubs 0 – Shea Stadium
No-no killed by Keith Moreland’s fifth-inning single
Rookie sensation Dwight “Doc” Gooden walked leadoff batter Bob Dernier to start this game and Dernier immediately moved into scoring position by stealing second, but Gooden settled down to strike out Ryan Sandberg and Gary Matthews and then got Leon Durham to ground out to end the inning.
Gooden kept the bases empty until the fifth inning when Keith Moreland stepped up to the plate and killed Gooden’s no-hitter with a slow roller to third ruled an infield hit by the official scorer. I’ll leave the pictures, descriptions and accounts of that hit to a couple of NoNoHitters.com readers who where at Shea that night.
From Steve: “You should know that Keith Moreland’s hit against Dwight Gooden in September 1984 – I was there – was an absolutely positively *&%$#$ %*$&!#% ERROR by Ray Knight on a slow roller toward third base. Knight gloved it, double clutched and could have rolled it to first and beaten the Kranepool-esque Moreland and gotten him. Knight never threw, I never forgave him or the official scorer, who was a total and complete brainless nitwit (G rated) to score it a hit. For confirmation, you can ask Rick Sutcliffe, who has said on the air a number of times that it should have been a no-hitter.”
Another view from NoNoHitters.com reader Mark: “I too was at that game, and I too yelled and screamed at Knight for not having the common sense and decency to at least throw the ball away in an attempt to draw an error on that play, since it was obvious that Gooden was unhittable that night. Still, even I acknowledge that had to be scored a hit, whatever Rick Sutcliffe might say.”
Gooden did prove unhittable that night (save Moreland’s squibbler), striking out 11 Cubs while walking four for the Mets’ 14th franchise one-hitter.
It would be 12 years later – in the Bronx, not Queens – that Gooden would finally get a no-no during the Yankees’ May 14, 1996 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
I was also at that game. It was Ray Knight’s first with the Mets, as I remember it. Always hated hime for not making the throw and yes, it should have been an error. Gooden was unhitable. I think actually he struck out 16 Cubs that night.
Gooden had two awesome years, 84 & 85. He was reasonable in 1986 and well, we know the story after that. But on September 7, 1984, in front of a national TV audience, he was unbelievable.
I was at that game…I remember being upset at the official scorer because I thought it was definitely an error. At the time of the hit, no one had any way of knowing that would be the only hit. I remember hoping that the official scorer would change the ruling as they sometimes do. As the game wore on and you saw how dominant Doc was I kept thinking back to that error/hit. I was almost hoping someone else would get a legit hit so it wouldn’t bother me. I felt that scorer deprived us of seeing the only no-hitter in Met history!
You can’t give an error on that play when he eats the ball. Anybody knows that. Knight had a bad arm and would have had to unload to make that play, and he obviously knew he lacked the gun to get the guy so he held the ball. It was only the fifth inning and you don’t want to throw the ball away. That’s just baseball and yes just another interesting way the Mets still don’t have a no-hitter 🙂
I was sitting with my Uncle btwn home and third on the first row in the first deck and we both agreed – it was definitely an error. Knight couldn’t get the ball out of his glove, THEN he double clutched and he was by then too late for the throw. His arm wasn’t that bad, he just flubbed it in the mitt. ERROR on Knight as my grandma could have thrown Moreland out. My uncle ray had been to about a million ball games and never seen a no-hitter live so he nearly jumped over the edge. I had to hold him by his belt while he leaned over and cursed out Ray Knight!! Gooden (and the rest of the 86 Mets bullpen) was a beast.
[…] It happened in the blink of an eye. Yes, he missed the call, just as the official scorer missed the call in 1985, when Keith Moreland dribbled a ball to third base that should have been ruled an error. But it […]
I was at that game also, sitting behind first base. To this day my friends and I refer to it as the “Throw it Away Ray” game. Yes, it was till early in the game but the Mets were romping and Gooden had been clearly unhittable. Knight should have thrown it into the stands. I am still bitter about it to this day.
I was there too. It was also the night Doc broke Pete Alexander’s NL rookie K record of 227. Herb Score’s ML record would soon follow. I still tell people I saw the first Mets no-hitter
I was at that game as well – a glorious night, and the crowd was electric. As Mark and KW said, the crowd was yelling for Knight to throw the ball into the stands, to try to deke the official scorer into giving him an error. What happened (and I was watching the left side of the infield with Moreland up) was that Knight thought Gooden was throwing a fastball and broke toward the shortstop hole on contact, only to reverse quickly because of Moreland’s weak nubber off of a slow curve. Yes, he got to it, but he was in an awkward position and couldn’t get the ball out of his glove. It was an infield hit, in my opinion – ugly, but not an error. I have nothing but fond memories of that game – I am certainly not bitter that it was “only” a one-hitter. It was a beautiful night of baseball. Gooden got two hits, too!