Mets Gooden Suspended for Drug Violation : Baseball: Failure to live within requirements of his after-care program costs him 60 days in final season of his contract.

Dwight Gooden has long been considered the heart and the ace of the Mets, above their problems despite those of his own. That all might have ended Tuesday, and with it his career with the franchise he helped turn around.

Gooden was suspended without pay for 60 days by Major League Baseball for violating his after-care program, seven years after he tested positive for cocaine use and underwent rehabilitation. The ruling rocked the organization, which heard about an investigation 10 days ago. Given that Gooden’s contract is up this year, he might have pitched his last game as a Met, 10 years after he lifted the club from its doldrums with a strong, 19-year-old right arm.

“I have been suspended for breaking the rules of my after-care program. I’m truly sorry it happened,” Gooden said in a statement released by the Mets. “I want to apologize to the club, my teammates, and the people of New York City. I want to thank everyone for their past support. I will be back stronger and better. I want to earn your respect back.”

That could be the most difficult assignment of his life, considering the decision handed down by Bud Selig, chairman of the Major League Executive Council. The directive did not say what Gooden had done. His nephew and close confidant Gary Sheffield of the Florida Marlins implied Gooden merely had missed one (or some) of the random tests he has been given the past seven years.

“Once I knew it was not drugs, it made everything OK,” Sheffield told reporters in Philadelphia.

But in its Wednesday editions, the New York Times reported a highly placed person in major league baseball said Gooden failed two random drug tests.

Details of the violation are to remain confidential, the Mets said.

Gooden’s violation left many people feeling let down. Among those was General Manager Joe McIlvaine, who recalled Gooden as a high school pitcher in Tampa and who stood at a news conference to announce the disciplinary action.

“To me, it’s disappointment more than anger,” McIlvaine said. “A sentence has been passed. We have to abide by it and try to go forward.”

He vigorously rejected inquiries about Gooden’s future with the Mets, even before they were asked. “Now is not the time to answer those questions,” McIlvaine said in a prepared statement at the start of the news conference. But given that Gooden is in the final year of a three-year, $15.45 million contract and that the Mets had been noncommittal about re-signing him anyway, his chances of wearing a Mets uniform next season are cloudy.

His chances of making it back this year probably are less than that. “I think you’d have to draw your own conclusion,” McIlvaine said. “The suspension becomes effective today, then there’s an extra two months, then dot . . . dot . . . dot. . . .”

Gooden was in the New York area, with agent Jim Neader, but both were unavailable. Gooden was aware during Monday night’s game that a suspension was imminent, after a brief phone conversation with McIlvaine.

“It’s not fazing him. He’s handling things well,” Sheffield told reporters in Philadelphia. “I’m sure things will be all right. As long as it’s not drugs, everything will be fine.”

Everything will be vague, at least for a while. Eugene Orza, associate general counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Association, said he would have to speak with Gooden before a decision is made on whether to appeal the suspension.

The Mets were unsure about what Gooden’s next step will be. McIlvaine said he did not know whether the pitcher will re-enter Smithers Alcoholism and Treatment Center in Manhattan, adding, “It is our understanding that the program will be just increased testing.”

Elsewhere, the reaction was mostly shock.

“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” said Ella-Mae Gooden, Dwight’s mother, in St. Petersburg. “I really don’t feel like talking right now.”

Mets Manager Dallas Green said Gooden’s violation indicated he had been focusing more on “I” than “we.” Green made similar comments last season about soon-to-be-exiled Vince Coleman.

“Everybody goes their own way after a game,” said John Franco, who was in a team meeting when McIlvaine read a statement to Mets players. “There was never any indication there was a problem.”

Gooden is 3-4 with a 6.31 earned-run average in 41 1/3 innings and had the worst outing of his career last Friday night, allowing nine runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 9-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.