updated 1:16 p.m. ET March 15, 2005

TAMPA, Fla. - Dwight Gooden walked out of jail Monday, one day after he was charged with punching his live-in girlfriend in the face.

The one-time star pitcher for the New York Mets and Yankees was told to stay away from Monique Moore before Judge Walter Heinrich ordered him released without bail on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.

He had been held since his arrest Sunday to give Moore a chance to appear in court and contest his release. She did not appear during Monday’s hearing.

Gooden’s nephew, Yankees right fielder Gary Sheffield, said before Monday night’s exhibition game with Pittsburgh that Gooden has talked about pressing charges against Moore.

“We talked about the situation,” Sheffield said. “He tried to walk away and make peace with it. A lot of people have problems at home. It was an isolated incident he tried to walk away from and wasn’t able to.”

Gooden appeared via a video hookup from the Hillsborough County Jail. He was released about three hours after the hearing. Gooden and his attorney, Peter Hobson, refused to speak to reporters.

Gooden, a special assistant for the New York Yankees, was arrested by Tampa police early Sunday. Police say Moore threw a telephone handset at Gooden and he punched her in the face, bruising her. The Yankees had no comment.

Sheffield talked with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner Monday regarding the incident. He said that Gooden might return to the team’s spring training camp Tuesday.

“The one thing I’ve learned about George is that George has his back,” Sheffield said.

Gooden spent 16 seasons in the major leagues pitching for the Mets, Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays before retiring in March 2001 with a career record of 194-112 and a 3.51 ERA.

He became the youngest Cy Young Award winner at age 20 in 1985 with the Mets, then helped them win the World Series a year later.

In 1994, Gooden was suspended for 60 days for testing positive for cocaine. He tested positive for cocaine again while on suspension and was sidelined for the 1995 season.

Gooden also was involved in a scuffle with Tampa police after a traffic stop in 1986. He was arrested for drunken driving in February 2002 in Tampa, along with having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle and driving with a suspended license. Another suspended-license arrest followed in January 2003.

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