NEW YORK - Former New York baseball stars Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden are forever linked in the public's mind, but not necessarily their own.
That fitting line concludes ESPN's latest "30 for 30" documentary, ''Doc & Darryl,'' which examines their relationship. The film premieres Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT, two nights after the All-Star game.
Both men symbolized the New York Mets' mid-1980s resurgence, winning back-to-back Rookie of the Year awards. They had freakish talents: Strawberry for hitting moon-shot home runs and ''Dr. K'' Gooden to freeze batters with his fastball and curve. Drug abuse cut short both of their careers, and they eventually served time in the same jail, although not at the same time.
Directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio wanted to see what sort of relationship the men had, and the heart of the film is a conversation held before cameras at a Queens, New York diner, the same one where scenes from the movie ''Goodfellas'' were shot.
Their body language and lack of eye contact betray a discomfort reminiscent of get-togethers with friends who hadn't connected in years.
The interview revealed that Strawberry had never asked Gooden why he missed the ticker-tape parade celebrating the Mets' 1986 championship, even though the outfielder had gone to Gooden's house to give him a ride and hadn't found him. Similarly, Gooden had never talked to Strawberry about an incident where teammate Ray Knight approached Strawberry about rumors that one of the Mets' two black superstars was involved in drugs. Knight confronted Strawberry, who said it wasn't him.
''There's a connection and a love between them,'' Bonfiglio said. ''They bonded as teammates. But they're not close. They never had the conversation that they had at the diner.''
