Former Cy Young Winner Visits Buena, NJ, Baseball Team
Former Mets pitch Dwight "Doc" Gooden, who was a key member of the 1986 New York Mets World Series championship team, was a special guest of the Buena Blue Dawgs of the South Jersey South Shore Baseball League.
As seen in the photo below, "Dr. K" met with the team and was even sporting a South Jersey South Shore Baseball League T-Shirt.
Gooden had his best season in 1985, winning the NL Cy Young Award, compiling a 24–4 record and a league-leading 1.53 ERA, 268 strikeouts, with 16 complete games.
The South Jersey South Shore Baseball League is currently in its third season, with 12 teams representing 11 different South Jersey communities.
Margate, Ventnor, Somers Point, Ocean City, Northfield, Hammonton, Galloway, EHT, Egg Harbor City, Absecon, and Buena all play in the league with the possibility of more coming next season.
The league recently had its All-Star game, which was an exhibition against the Tri-County All-Stars, and featured Miss New Jersey Victoria Mozitis of Northfield singing the National Anthem.
The SJSSBL as its known, has also formed a partnership with BFA Sports, which airs select games throughout the season and has helped get local players collegiate looks from coaches who what the games being streamed online.
The South Jersey Surf, managed by former Atlantic City Surf manager Jeff Ball is the two-time champion of the league, and Margate is currently in first place in the standings with the playoffs starting on Monday, July 17.