Dwight Gooden will pitch his first game...

Dwight Gooden will pitch his first game tonight since his drug rehabilitation, and the outing is having a significant impact on the Tidewater Tides.

“It’s nice to be the media capital of the world for about 30 minutes,” said Dave Rosenfield, general manager of the International League club.

The New York Mets star pitcher should need little more than a half-hour to make his 50 pitches tonight against the Richmond Braves.

Those 30 minutes meant hours of preparation for the Tides.

The ticket window drew steady business, groundskeepers roped off a special press gallery, the office handled phone calls and concessionaires geared for an expected sellout crowd--of 6,200.

Tidewater normally averages between 1,500-2,000 fans a game.