NEW YORK -- For Dwight Gooden, it'll be just like old times -- with a twist.

Gooden gets another chance to straddle the mound at Shea Stadium, where he won a Cy Young Award and a World Series ring with the Mets, when he returns to the major leagues Saturday.

Only he'll be facing the Mets, pitching for the New York Yankees in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

	The last time that Gooden took the pitching mound for the Yankees was in 1996, and they won the World Series that year.

For Mets outfielder Derek Bell, it'll be just like Little League.

"I've known Doc since I was 9 years old. He'd watch us play and tell you what you were doing wrong, tell you how to snap your fingers for the curveball. He was like my older brother," Bell, who grew up with Gooden in Tampa, Fla., said at Shea Stadium before Friday night's opener of the Subway Series.

Gooden was not at the ballpark for the game.

"After our Little League games," said Bell, who asked -- and received -- permission from Gooden to wear Doc's old No. 16 when the outfielder joined the Mets from the Houston Astros for this season, "we'd look through the fence and watch him play. He always dominated. ...

"When I see him out there (Saturday), I'm just going to have to realize I have a job to do. It's going to be emotional out there."

It probably will be for Gooden, who could be getting his last of a string of chances in the majors.

After 11 seasons with the Mets -- which saw him, at 20, become the youngest Cy Young Award winner in 1985, and win a World Series championship a year later -- Gooden missed the 1995 season because of a drug suspension.

"He made sure his 'little brother' only followed in his footsteps on the field," Bell said.

The man known as Dr. K for his ability strike out batters thanks to a blazing fastball then joined the Yankees in 1996. In two seasons with the club, Gooden went 20-12 with a 4.58 ERA and tossed a no-hitter against Seattle on May 14, 1996.

But his stay ended after injuries and ineffectiveness.

Gooden was 2-3 with a 6.86 ERA for Houston and Tampa Bay this season, before being released by the Devil Rays in May. The Yankees signed him to a minor league deal two weeks later.

Now Gooden, 10 victories shy of 200 in the major, officially rejoins the Yankees' roster Saturday.

"If you're ever going to do it, what better time than here and now, because of the scene," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

"I'm anxious to see Doc pitch," said Yankees right-hander David Cone, a teammate of Gooden's with both New York clubs. "It'll be one of those unique moments to see the crowd reaction."

Said Mets manager Bobby Valentine, "It's an event within an event. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. I remember the vibrations felt in major league spring training and the impact he made."

Bell remembers himself and Gooden having a hard time stifling giggles when they faced off at this level in the past _ giddy at the prospect of two childhood friends staring each other down in the majors.

"We couldn't stop laughing at each other," Bell said. "He had to look the other way.

"For Mets fans to see him pitch here one more time is great. The fans are still going to love him for being Doc and for what he did here. He had a subway train behind his fastball."

With his 35-year-old right arm no longer able to generate that kind of velocity, Gooden has added a split-fingered fastball to his arsenal. In two minor league starts for the Yankees' Gulf Coast League team in Florida, Gooden allowed four hits over eight shutout innings.

"I faced him when he dominated this uniform and this stadium. He might have some flashbacks to back when he was punching people out with that fastball," said Mets outfielder Lenny Harris.

"Who knows? A lot of people are trying to close the book on him. He's not ready to close it."