David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
(MLB)
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
, and current
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...
for the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
on the
YES Network and WPIX as well as for
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
on
Sunday Night Baseball
''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN during the regular season.
The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: ...
.
[Profile](_blank)
yesnetwork.com; accessed February 14, 2015. A third round draft pick of the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
in
1981 MLB Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
* Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
*Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...
, he made his MLB debut in 1986 and continued playing until 2003, pitching for five different teams. Cone batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Cone pitched the
sixteenth
The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582).
The 16th centur ...
perfect game in baseball history in 1999. On the final game of the 1991 regular season, he
struck out 19 batters,
tied for second-most ever in a game. The 1994
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
winner, he was a five-time
All-Star and led the major leagues in strikeouts each season from 1990–92. A two-time 20 game-winner, he set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons with 10.
He was a member of five
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
teams — with the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
and , , and with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
. His 8–3 career
postseason record came over 21 games and 111
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...
, with an
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
(ERA) of 3.80; in World Series play, his ERA was 2.12.
Cone is the subject of the book, ''A Pitcher's Story: Innings With David Cone'', by
Roger Angell
Roger Angell (September 19, 1920 – May 20, 2022) was an American essayist known for his writing on sports, especially baseball. The only writer ever elected into both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Baseball Writers' Associa ...
. Cone and
Jack Curry
Jack F. Curry is an American sports commentator. He has worked in television for the YES Network since 2010, providing analysis of New York Yankees baseball games during pregame and postgame shows. He was part of YES's Emmy Award-winning Yankee co ...
co-wrote the autobiography ''Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher'', which was released in May 2019 and made the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list shortly after its release.
Early years
Cone was born in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
, the son of Joan (née Curran; 1936–2016) and Edwin Cone (1934–2022). He attended
Rockhurst High School, a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
school, where he played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
on the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
team, leading them to the district championship. He was also a
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...
on the basketball team.
Because Rockhurst did not have a baseball team, Cone instead played summer ball in the
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL).
Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of the min ...
League, a college summer league in Kansas City.
At 16, he reported to an invitation-only tryout at
Royals Stadium and an open tryout for the
St. Louis Cardinals.
He was also recruited to play
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
.
Upon graduation, he enrolled at the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
and was drafted by his hometown
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
in the third round of the
1981 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.
Compensation Picks
Other notable players
* Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs
*Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...
.
Professional baseball career
Minor leagues and MLB debut: Kansas City Royals (1981–1986)
Cone went 22–7 with a 2.21
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
in his first two professional seasons. He sat out 1983 with an injury, and went 8–12 with a 4.28 ERA for the Double-A
Memphis Chicks when he returned in 1984. During his second season with the
Class AAA
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...
Omaha Royals (1986), Cone was converted to a
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
, and he made his Major League debut on June 8, 1986, in relief of reigning
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
winner
Bret Saberhagen
Bret William Saberhagen (; born April 11, 1964) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox fro ...
. He made three more appearances out of the Royals'
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
before returning to Omaha, where he went 8–4 with a 2.79 ERA. He returned to Kansas City when rosters expanded that September.
New York Mets (1987–1992)
Prior to the 1987 season, Cone was traded with
Chris Jelic to the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...
for
Ed Hearn,
Rick Anderson and
Mauro Gozzo. Cone went 5–6 with a 3.71 ERA and 68
strikeouts
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
in 21 appearances (13 starts) his first season in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Cone began the 1988 season in the bullpen, but was added to the starting rotation by the first week of May. His first start was a
complete game
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
over the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...
, and he went on to post a 9–2 record with a 2.52 ERA in the first half of the season to earn his first
All-Star nod. For the season, Cone went 20–3 with a 2.22 ERA to finish third in
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
Cy Young Award balloting.
The Mets ran away with the
National League East
The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title.
The division was created when the National Leag ...
by fifteen games over the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, and were heavy favorites over the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
, against whom they had a 10–1 record during the regular season, in the
1988 National League Championship Series.
Cone became a newspaper commentator on the playoffs for the ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'', and incited controversy after the Mets' 3–2 victory in game one by saying Dodgers game one starter
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
"was lucky for eight innings", and ripping
closer Jay Howell
Jay Canfield Howell (born November 26, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1980), Chicago Cubs (1981), New York Yankees (1982–1984), Oakland Athletics (1985–1987), Los Angeles Dodgers (1988–1992), ...
:
After Cone provided the Dodgers with bulletin board material, Los Angeles jumped on Cone for five runs in two innings in the second game of the playoffs to tie the series at a game apiece. The Mets persuaded Cone to stop writing the column, and he came back with a scoreless ninth inning in a Game 3 Mets win and a complete-game victory in Game 6; however, series MVP and 1988 Cy Young Award winner
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
came back in game seven with the complete game shutout to lead the Dodgers to the
1988 World Series against the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
.
In a well-known incident on April 30, 1990, against the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...
, Cone covered first base on a throw from second baseman
Gregg Jefferies
Gregory Scott Jefferies (born August 1, 1967) is a retired infielder/outfielder in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1987 to 2000. He was a highly touted prospect who became the first two-time winner of the ''Baseball America' ...
, which should have retired batter
Mark Lemke. Umpire
Charlie Williams mistakenly ruled Lemke safe. Arguing with Williams, and thinking time had been called, Cone held the ball while two Braves' runners (
Dale Murphy
Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–), he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphi ...
and
Ernie Whitt
Leo Ernest Whitt (born June 13, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), including twelve for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the last player from the franchise's inaugural sea ...
) scored.
Cone spent over five seasons in his first stint with the New York Mets, most of the time serving as the team's co-ace alongside
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the ...
while leading the National League in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991. In 1991, Cone switched from uniform number 44 to 17 in honor of former teammate
Keith Hernandez. On August 30, he struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in the fifth inning of a 3–2 win over the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
, becoming the 16th National League pitcher and the 25th pitcher in major-league history to accomplish an
immaculate inning.
Cone tied a National League record on October 6, in the season finale, by striking out 19
rival Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
batters in a 7–0, three-hit shutout at
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. His 19 strikeouts was the second-highest total ever recorded in a nine-inning game just behind the 20-strikeout games recorded by
Kerry Wood
Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees.
Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old ro ...
,
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...
(twice),
Randy Johnson and
Max Scherzer, and tying
Tom Seaver's single-game club record, making the Mets the only team with two pitchers to achieve the feat.
Cone was the lone Mets representative at the
1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, going 9–4 with a 2.56 ERA at the All-Star break. With a 56–67 record, and fourteen games behind the first place Pirates, the infamous "worst team money could buy" traded Cone to the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
for
Jeff Kent and
Ryan Thompson on August 27, 1992, after the non-waiver trading deadline.
Toronto Blue Jays (1992)
With Toronto, Cone was 4–3 with a 2.55 ERA and 47 strikeouts. Combined with the 214 strikeouts he had with the Mets, his 261 strikeouts led the major leagues and were career-highs. Cone headed to the postseason for the second time in his career as the Blue Jays won the
American League East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...
. The Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics in the
1992 American League Championship Series
The 1992 American League Championship Series was played between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics from October 7 to 14, 1992. The Blue Jays won the series four games to two to advance to their first World Series, and became the fir ...
, and the Atlanta Braves in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
, to give Cone his first
World Series ring
A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...
, and become the first Canadian team to win the World Series. For his part, Cone went 1–1 with a 3.22 ERA in the postseason.
Cy Young Award: Return to Kansas City Royals (1993–1994)
Cone returned to his hometown Kansas City Royals as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
for the 1993 season. Despite an 11–14 record, Cone had an impressive 1993, pitching 254 innings with a 3.33 ERA, or 138 ERA+. He improved to go 16–5 with a 2.94 ERA (171 ERA+) in the strike-shortened 1994 season to win the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
Cy Young Award, and finish ninth in
MVP voting. Cone was a
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League cl ...
representative in negotiations with Major League Baseball in events that surrounded the
1994 baseball strike
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
.
Toronto Blue Jays, second stint (1995)
Four days after the strike ended, the Royals traded Cone back to the Blue Jays for
Chris Stynes
Christopher Desmond Stynes (born January 19, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball utility player.Pete Palmer; Gary Gillette; Stuart Shea. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'. Sterling Publishing Company; 1 February 2006. . p. 680.
Early life
Chri ...
, David Sinnes and Tony Medrano. Cone was 9–6 with a 3.38 ERA for Toronto, however, the Jays were 35–47 and in fifth place when they struck a deal with the second-place New York Yankees. On July 28, 1995, the Blue Jays sent Cone to the Yankees for
Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon.
New York Yankees (1995–2000)
When the Yankees acquired Cone, they were on a six-game winning streak, though still trailing the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
for the division lead.
[The David Cone Years](_blank)
Riveraveblues.com; accessed February 14, 2015. Cone instantly became the team's ace and would post a 9-2 record as the Yankees won the wild card in the first season of the new three division, wild card format. In his third postseason, Cone won the first game of the
1995 American League Division Series
The 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1995 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—p ...
against the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...
, and left game five with the score tied at four. The Mariners won the game in extra innings to eliminate the Yankees from the playoffs.
The Yankees re-signed Cone in the offseason to a three-year contract worth $19.5 million. Cone was 4–1 with a 2.02 ERA when he was diagnosed with an
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...
in his arm in 1996 and went on the
disabled list
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL).
General guidelines
...
for the majority of the year. In his comeback start that September against the Oakland Athletics, Cone pitched a no-hitter through seven innings before he had to leave due to
pitch count restrictions.
[ ]Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...
allowed an infield single, ending the no-hit bid.
The Yankees returned to the postseason for the second of thirteen consecutive seasons. After losing to the Texas Rangers in game one of the 1996 American League Division Series
The 1996 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1996 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 1, and ended on Saturday, October 5, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team� ...
, and a no decision in the 1996 American League Championship Series
The 1996 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was played to decide the winner of the American League pennant and the right to play in the 1996 World Series. It was contested by the East division champion New York Yankees and the wild card B ...
, Cone came back in game three of the World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
against the Atlanta Braves with a six inning, one run performance to give the Yankees their first win of the Series on their way to their first World Championship in eighteen years.
Cone went 20–7 in 1998, setting a Major League record for the longest span between twenty-win seasons at 11, surpassing the record of 8 set by Jim Kaat in 1974.[ Cone won the ]1998 American League Division Series
The 1998 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1998 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 29, and ended on Saturday, October 3, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" tea ...
clinching game against the Rangers, the 1998 American League Championship Series
The 1998 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 1998 American League playoffs, was played between the East Division champion New York Yankees and the Central Division champion Cleveland Indians.
The Yankees defeated ...
clinching game against the Indians, and Game Three of the 1998 World Series
The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National ...
against the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
. Cone finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting.
He re-signed with the Yankees for the 1999 season for $8 million.
He went 12–9 in 1999, pitching the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history on July 18 against the Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
. It was the last no-hitter by a Yankee until 2021, and also the first in a regular season interleague perfect game. Making the game even more remarkable was that it was "Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but t ...
Day" at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...
. After a long feud with owner George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
, Berra agreed to return to the stadium that day. Yogi caught the ceremonial first pitch from Don Larsen
Don James Larsen (August 7, 1929 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore O ...
, who threw a perfect game for the Yankees in the 1956 World Series; that game had been caught by Yogi Berra. Larsen could be seen smiling in the press box after the final out of Cone's perfect game was recorded. After the game, Cone was met at his clubhouse locker by Larsen and Berra, who together wrapped him in a bear hug.
After the perfect game, he seemed to suddenly lose effectiveness. It was the last shutout he would throw in his career.[ In 2000, he posted the worst record of his career, 4–14, while seeing his ERA balloon to 6.91, more than double his mark the previous year. In spite of his ineffectiveness, Cone was brought in during game four of the 2000 World Series to face the Mets' Mike Piazza, a controversial decision at the time — ]Denny Neagle
Dennis Edward Neagle Jr. (; born September 13, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for six teams over a 13-year career. During the 1990s, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball, but his career, and personal life, deter ...
had given up a home run to Piazza in his previous at-bat, but was pitching with a lead and only needed to retire Piazza to go the minimum five innings to be eligible for a win. Cone induced a pop-up to end the inning. It was the only batter he faced in the entire Series.
Boston Red Sox (2001)
Cone recognized after the 2000 season that his tenure with the Yankees was over. In 2001 Cone pitched for the rival Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
, performing with mixed but mostly positive results, including a 9–7 win–loss record and a 4.31 ERA. His 2001 season included a suspenseful 1–0 loss against Yankees ace Mike Mussina wherein Cone pitched innings giving up one unearned run, keeping the game close even as Mike Mussina came within one strike of completing a perfect game, which would have made Cone the first pitcher to pitch a perfect game and be the losing pitcher in another.
Comeback with New York Mets (2003)
Cone sat out the 2002 season, but attempted a comeback with the Mets in 2003. Cone went 1–3 in four starts for the Mets with a 6.50 ERA. He announced his retirement soon after his last appearance for the Mets on May 28, citing a chronic hip problem.
Pitching style
Cone modeled his pitching after Luis Tiant. By emulating Tiant's pitching style, it helped him conserve his arm. The drawback is that it put much wear and tear on his hips.
Career statistics
Cone's .606 won-lost percentage ranks 95th on MLB all-time list; 7.77 hits allowed per nine innings pitched ranks 60th on MLB's all-time list; 8.28 strikeouts per nine innings pitched ranks 17th; 2,668 strikeouts ranks 21st, and 419 games started ranks 97th on the MLB all-time list. Cone:
*Is the New York Yankees' all-time leader in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (8.67).
*Holds the New York Yankees' single-season record for most strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (10.25 in 1997).
*Is the last Yankee pitcher to strike out 200+ batters in two consecutive seasons.
*Struck out 19 batters in one game, October 6, 1991.
*Is the only pitcher to have a 20-win season with both the Mets (1988) and the Yankees (1998).
Later activities
Upon retiring from baseball in 2001, Cone became a color commentator on the YES Network during its inaugural season. However, his comeback attempt with the crosstown rival Mets in 2003 infuriated Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
and Cone was told he would not be welcomed back. After his second retirement from baseball, Cone was offered a broadcasting position with the Mets, but declined.
In 2008, Cone rejoined the YES Network as an analyst and host of ''Yankees on Deck''. He left the YES Network during the 2009–10 offseason in order to "spend more time with my family". He was replaced by former Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez
Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from ...
. On April 19, 2011, Cone returned to the Yankees broadcast booth in Toronto, working as analyst for a Yankees-Blue Jays series along with Ken Singleton
Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and designated hitter from to , most prominently as a member ...
. As an announcer, he is known for making references to sabermetric
Sabermetrics, or originally SABRmetrics, is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific ques ...
statistics, referencing some websites such as Fangraphs.com. Cone is currently the Yankees' lead color commentator, alongside former teammate Paul O'Neill. The two are paired with Michael Kay as the Yankees' regular broadcast team. In 2022, Cone was announced to be part of the Sunday Night Baseball
''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN during the regular season.
The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show '' Baseball Tonight: ...
broadcast team on ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
along with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez
Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to:
Association football
* Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator
* Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footbal ...
, and Buster Olney.
On July 17, 2009, Cone testified as a witness (representing the Democratic Party) before the Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
during the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
nomination hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
. Cone read a prepared statement in support of Sotomayor's nomination which chronicled Major League Baseball's labor dispute of 1994 and the impact of the judge's decision which forced the disputants back to the bargaining table. Cone said, "It can be a good thing to have a judge in district court or a justice on the United States Supreme Court who recognizes that the law cannot always be separated from the realities involved in the disputes being decided."
Personal life
Cone was accused of rape in 1991, but within 72 hours the police found the claim to be without merit. In 1991, three women accused Cone of having threatened their lives at the ballpark. Cone said he had cursed them out for harassing the wife of teammate Sid Fernandez, but never threatened them. The three women later amended their lawsuit against Cone, accusing him of having lured them into the bullpen area at Shea Stadium in 1989 and masturbating in their presence. Two of the women's claims were unsuccessful. One of the women settled her claims out of court based upon Cone calling her a "groupie"; all sexual accusations were dismissed.
Cone married Lynn DiGioia, an interior designer, on November 12, 1994. The couple had a son, Brian, on March 23, 2006. David and Lynn Cone divorced in 2011. Cone's former partner is real estate broker and investor Taja Abitbol. They have a son, Sammy, who was born on December 15, 2011.David Cone to buy apartment at Greenwich Lane
nypost.com; accessed February 12, 2015.
See also
* Kansas City Royals award winners and league leaders This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Kansas City Royals professional baseball team.
Regular-season awards
MVP Award
* 1980: George Brett
Cy Young Award
* 1985: Bret Saberhagen
* 1989: Bret Saberhagen
* 1994: David Cone
* ...
* List of athletes who came out of retirement
* List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls allowed leaders
* List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders
* List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
*
* List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. In addition, all no-hitters that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games are listed, although they are no ...
* List of Major League Baseball perfect games
* List of Major League Baseball single-game strikeout leaders
In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. Twenty different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game as of 2016, the ...
* List of New York Yankees no-hitters
* List of people from Kansas City, Missouri
The list of people from Kansas City, Missouri is for native-born and past residents. Kansas City, Missouri is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area. People only from Kansas are at List of people from Kansas City, Kansas.
A
* B ...
* List of World Series starting pitchers
The following is a chronological list of the starting pitchers for each World Series game contested in Major League Baseball.
Each pitcher's Win–loss record (pitching), win–loss record for World Series starts, cumulative through the game in q ...
References
External links
*
BaseballLibrary.com
Hickok Sports
Ultimate Mets Database
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cone, David
1963 births
Living people
Missouri Democrats
YES Network
Cy Young Award winners
National League All-Stars
National League strikeout champions
American League All-Stars
American League wins champions
Boston Red Sox players
Kansas City Royals players
New York Mets players
New York Yankees announcers
New York Yankees players
Toronto Blue Jays players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri
Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a perfect game
Gulf Coast Royals players
Fort Myers Royals players
Charleston Royals players
Memphis Chicks players
Omaha Royals players
Tidewater Tides players
Norwich Navigators players
Sarasota Red Sox players
St. Lucie Mets players