Back in 1985, Dwight Gooden was Matt Harvey, and more. In his second season in the major leagues, at 20, he went 24-4 with a 1.53 earned run average, threw 16 complete games (which would be unthinkable these days), had eight shutouts and struck out 268 batters in 276 2/3 innings of work.  Gooden also drew fans to the ballpark. And why not? He was a sensation — tall and lanky, with a rocketing fastball and a huge curve, and with remarkable poise for someone so young.  In the 18 games that Gooden started that season at Shea Stadium, the Mets’ average attendance was 40,072. In the 60 other dates (there were three doubleheaders), the average attendance was 34,005.  That is a gap of over 6,000 fans a game. And it is a pretty accurate number, too, considering that back then the attendance figure for each game in the National League represented the actual turnstile count, not the sometimes deceptive tickets-sold figure now used everywhere in Major League Baseball.  It is possible that there were other variables at play that season — including the weather on the days that Gooden started and the fact that he pitched on opening day, an automatic big draw at the gate — but the overriding factor was that the Mets were surging then, in the second season of a big turnaround in the standings, and Gooden was front and center in the drama.  Consider what happened in a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs that June.  In Game 1 at Shea, on June 17, a Monday, 41,986 fans turned out, a pretty significant crowd for a weeknight game. Game 2, the next night, drew 41,125.  On Wednesday, with Gooden on the mound, there were 51,778 in the stands, a jump of more than 10,000 people. And Gooden did not disappoint, either, pitching a 1-0 complete game for his 10th win and recording nine strikeouts.  On Thursday, the last game of the series, 37,203 showed up.  Would some of the extra fans who came to see Gooden in that series have gone to one of the other three Mets-Cubs games that week if Gooden had not been set to pitch during that four-day period? Probably. On the other hand, some of those extra thousands who showed up to see Gooden probably would not have gone to Shea at all had he not been on the mound.  Which brings us to Harvey, who is set to make his first start at home this season on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies. It will, by any measurement, be an emotional evening. The last time Harvey pitched at Citi Field was Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, when he was smacked around by the Detroit Tigers. Shortly afterward, he was found to have a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.  After some resistance, Harvey had surgery and missed all of the 2014 season. He made his comeback official last Thursday, when, looking pretty much good as new, he shut down the Nationals in Washington for six innings, allowing no runs and just four hits while striking out nine. He will try to better that performance on Tuesday night.  Of course, if the Mets had arranged their pitching rotation differently last week, Harvey could have pitched the home opener on Monday instead of getting second billing the day after.  But the Mets preferred it this way, in part in the hope that Harvey could draw more fans than usual to the second home game of the season. That game, especially when played during the week, can produce a sizable letdown at the gate, particularly for teams in the Northeast or Midwest, where the weather is likely to be cold at night in April, school is still in session and watching at home often seems like a better idea.  Last season, the Mets sold 42,442 tickets for opening day at Citi Field, against the Nationals. Game 2, two days later, sold 29,146 tickets, according to the Mets, although the actual crowd that night appeared to be a good deal smaller.  On Monday, the Mets sold 43,997 tickets for the home opener, a jump from a year ago. The weather was sunny, and Mets fans — after a long run of losing seasons — are determinedly optimistic. As for Tuesday, and Harvey’s Citi Field return, the Mets said they expected to sell around 35,000 tickets, or maybe more.  That’s a lot for a midweek Game 2. And it doesn’t hurt that forecasts have been calling for nice weather, too.  So perhaps the Mets will end up feeling justified in using their gimmick to get more fans in the seats on the day after the home opener. And if Harvey continues to pitch as he did two years ago, before being hurt, and the Mets actually compete for a playoff spot for the first time since 2008, then maybe he will turn into the kind of season-long draw that Gooden was 30 years ago, when his home games were events.  The Mets can only hope so. In addition to more victories, they need more paying fans in the seats. Only that, General Manager Sandy Alderson has pretty strongly indicated, will put some oomph in their pretty modest payroll.
A young pitching sensation like Matt Harvey can drive up attendance at Mets home games, as Dwight Gooden showed in 1985.