Friends say cocaine addiction is going to kill Doc Gooden

Serious concern from friends and family of former-Mets and Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden has reached such a level that they are publicly speaking about their fear that 'Doc' is going to kill himself with his ongoing drug and alcohol abuse.

Meanwhile, Gooden is saying it's much ado about nothing, and that he's fine.

Former players Darryl Strawberry (L) and Dwight Gooden speak during a press conference for their induction into the New York Mets Hall of Fame prior to the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 31, 2010 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Strawberry - who also has a history of battling drug and alcoholo issues - pulled no punches while speaking with the NY Daily News, calling his former teammate a 'complete junkie-addict':

“The condition Doc is in, it’s bad, it’s horrible. It’s like cocaine poison. I feel like I’ve got to get it out there because nobody else is doing anything to help him, and it might be the only way to stop him.”

The paper also spoke with another person who claims he was with Gooden on Thursday, when he no-showed at a public appearance he was scheduled to make with Strawberry for WFAN radio:

According to this person, Gooden locked himself in the bedroom of his apartment late in the afternoon, when he was supposed to be leaving for the appearance, and wouldn’t come out despite repeated urging from the person in question, as well as three of Doc’s adult children, who were there at the time.

Janice Roots, a woman who had been living with Gooden for several years, says she left In February because Doc's drug issues turned him from a compassionate man into a 'cocaine monster'.

Earlier this summer, Gooden and Strawberry were featured in one of ESPN's mini-documentaries - 30 for 30 - called Doc and Daryl.