Ridgewood Savings Bank will be hosting a community event on Saturday, July 14, at its Astoria branch, featuring the personal appearance of former New York Mets and New York Yankees pitcher Dwight “Dr. K” Gooden, who will meet with fans and sign free autograph photos.
Fans will be able to choose a photo of Gooden in either a Mets or Yankees uniform.
The event, which is open to the public, will take place at the Ridgewood Savings Bank Astoria branch located at 43-14 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria from noon to 2 p.m. On-air radio personality Joe Causi will be on site with the WCBS-FM Street Team to spin the Prize Wheel and provide a soundtrack to the festive family atmosphere.
Gooden is a hometown hero for sports fans in Queens, having played for the Mets for more than a decade (1984-94). His career highlights include pitching one of the most statistically dominating single seasons in baseball history, with 24 wins, 268 strikeouts, and a 1.53 ERA in 1985. He was the youngest-ever recipient of the Cy Young Award the same year, and went on to win the World Series in 1986.
He later pitched a no-hitter with the New York Yankees against the Seattle Mariners in 1996.
In addition to the Gooden event, Ridgewood is providing free family photos (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), hot dogs and soda (noon to 2 p.m.), along with an appearance by a balloon sculptor/ magician (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) on July 21. Also, on July 28, the bank will host Doc Butler and JC Cob Acoustical Guitars (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), with Italian ices being served (noon to 2 p.m.).
For more details, call the Astoria branch at 1-718-274-5400.
