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Doc Gooden counters Darryl Strawberry’s drug allegations with some strong accusations of his own

Darryl Strawberry, left, and Dwight "Doc" Gooden during an appearance for the New York Mets in 2010.
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
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Dwight “Doc” Gooden continues to lash out at Darryl Strawberry, who has said in recent days that he fears his former New York Mets and Yankees teammate is dying because of drug addiction.

On Monday night, Gooden told the New York Post he’s been clean for four years and that Strawberry had his own reasons for saying otherwise.

“He’s trying to take the heat off himself … ,” Gooden said. “He’s cheating on his wife, he’s having an affair with people.”

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Gooden added: “Darryl has a drug rehab in his name, he is supposed to be a pastor. I call him Lucifer. … [Going public] was a weak shot, and he did it to make himself look better, because he is running a drug rehab.”

After Gooden missed two planned public appearances with him last week, Strawberry attempted to stage what he said was a public intervention of sorts for his friend, telling the Post that Gooden is “a complete junkie-addict” and providing the paper with three sources to back up his story.

Gooden turned to the media on Monday to say he’s healthy and express disappointment in Strawberry for what he thought amounted to a betrayal. “ I need to make better choices in picking friends,” Gooden said on “The Joe Piscopo Show” on WNYM-AM.

He said in a statement to USA Today: “I had always been supportive of Darryl, during his best and worst days. I recall the times he was in prison, and I was there for him. I recall the times he struggled with his own addiction, and I was there for him then, too.

“Darryl has always made our differences personal, going back to our days with the Mets. I had hoped we could keep these differences between us, but Darryl could not manage to do that. I am sorry for his inability to show more character and strength. While I was there for him, he obviously was never there for me.’’

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But Strawberry didn’t back down from his statements during a Monday night interview on ESPN Radio.

“He’s very good at manipulating, he’s very good at BS-ing, he’s very good at blowing smoke up people’s behinds,” Strawberry said of Gooden.

“If he wants to get well, he’s going to have to get well. This is crunch time for him. This is public for him. Everyone knows that I’m telling the truth. … Someone finally stepped up and said something about his struggles.”

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