GOODEN SOUGHT BY POLICE AFTER FLEEING TRAFFIC STOP

TAMPA, Fla. -- Former baseball star Dwight Gooden was being sought by
police Tuesday on a felony warrant after he allegedly drove away from an
officer who stopped him on suspicion of drunken driving.

Gooden, 41, left the scene of the traffic stop early Monday after refusing
to get out his 2004 BMW to take a field sobriety test, police spokeswoman
Laura McElroy said.

The officer stopped Gooden's car because he was weaving in traffic near
downtown Tampa, McElroy said. Gooden, a Tampa native and resident, has a
history of drug abuse and is awaiting trial on a domestic violence charge.

"The officer pulls over the car and immediately notices that the driver is
under the influence," she said. "He has bloodshot, glassy eyes, his speech
was slurred and he has a strong odor of alcohol."

Gooden handed the officer his driver's license but refused two requests to
get out of the car, McElroy said. He then drove off with the officer still
holding his license.

Police chose not pursue for safety reasons, McElroy said, but went to his
two known addresses to look for him. They also contacted his most recent
employer, the New York Yankees, and his mother, she said.

Yankees spokesman Howard Grosswirth said Tuesday that Gooden hasn't worked
for the team as a special adviser since the spring and team officials don't
know his whereabouts.

"I feel very sorry for Dwight," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said
through spokesman Howard Rubenstein. "He left the Yankees in April of his
own accord."

But Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield, Gooden's nephew, appeared to
indicate the Yankees had cut ties with Gooden.

"You got to do the right thing, you've got to live a certain way and do the
right things that's required," Sheffield said. "If you're not doing it, you
can't expect to be working for somebody. So they did what they had to do,
and his situation I'm sure got to him and hopefully he can overcome it."

Gooden, who was out of jail on bail after a March domestic violence arrest,
is wanted on felony charges of DUI and fleeing police, and a misdemeanor
charge of resisting arrest without violence.

"At this point he is in a lot of trouble, and the only way he can help
himself is to come forward and take responsibility for his actions,"
McElroy said.

The 1984 Rookie of the Year and the 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner while
with the New York Mets, Gooden went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring
in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros
and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

"It's sad, it really is," said Yankees manager Joe Torre, who said he was
unaware of the news. "Doc's obviously had some problems through the years
and it's a shame for what he's gone through."

Gooden was arrested by Tampa police in 2002 on a drunken driving charge,
but later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and received a year probation.
He was arrested in March and charged with hitting his live-in girlfriend in
the face during an argument. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic
battery, and the case is pending.

A call to Peter Hobson, the lawyer representing Gooden in the domestic
violence case, was not immediately returned Tuesday.

During his playing days, Gooden was suspended for 60 days in 1994 for
testing positive for cocaine while with the Mets. He tested positive for
cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season.

"I'm sure everybody in a family has a person in their family that has a
problem - drug related or whatever," Sheffield said. "He happens to be the
one. It's just one of those things where when he hurts, I hurt."

Earlier this month his son, Dwight Gooden Jr., 19, was jailed for violating
his probation for cocaine possession. Police said they found marijuana and
bullets in the younger Gooden's vehicle parked outside a nightclub.

Gooden's disappearance is reminiscent of the 2001 disappearance of his
friend and former teammate Darryl Strawberry, who was missing for four days
after he walked away from a drug treatment center where he was under house
arrest.

AP Sports Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed to this report