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- ⚾ David Cone is PERFECT
⚾ David Cone is PERFECT
Throwing just 88 pitches David Cone pitches the 14th perfect game in the modern era
David Cone’s Perfect Day
David Cone thrived under pressure. In 1996, he returned from a life-threatening aneurysm to throw seven no-hit innings for the Yankees. But his most magical day came three years later.
On July 18, 1999 — Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium — Cone delivered a perfect game. Berra, recently reconciled with George Steinbrenner after a 14-year feud, caught the ceremonial first pitch from Don Larsen, whose own perfecto in the 1956 World Series remains iconic. Cone joked with Larsen about recreating the celebration. “You got it wrong, kid,” Larsen snapped. “He jumped into my arms.”
Cone, 36, had been an All-Star days earlier and was already a key piece of the Yankees' dynasty. That day, he faced the struggling Montreal Expos, the youngest lineup in baseball, arriving in New York at 3:30 a.m. after a road trip. Their starter, Javier Vazquez, gave up five runs early, including home runs to Ricky Ledee and Derek Jeter.
Cone, meanwhile, was masterful. He struck out the side in the third, and needed just 88 pitches to retire all 27 batters — never reaching a three-ball count. Defensive gems helped: Paul O’Neill’s diving catch in the first, Scott Brosius’s stab in the seventh, and Chuck Knoblauch’s pinpoint throw in the eighth. In the ninth, with the crowd hanging on every pitch, Cone fanned Chris Widger, got a flyout from Ryan McGuire, then induced a pop-up from Orlando Cabrera.
As Brosius caught it, Cone dropped to his knees. Catcher Joe Girardi bear-hugged him before the Yankees mobbed the mound. Fittingly, the number 8 — Berra’s — was painted behind home plate that day.
“It was like the stars aligned,” Cone said. “You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery.” It would be his final peak. Cone struggled afterward, finishing 1999 with a 2-5 record and posting a 6.91 ERA in 2000. But on that hot July day, with history in the stands and perfection on the field, Cone etched his name into baseball lore.
Vazquez, who lost that day, remembered it fondly: “It was probably as much fun as I’ve had losing a game.”
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Did you know?
July 18, 1921 -- At Navin Field in Detroit, Babe Ruth becomes the all-time home run leader when he hits his 139th career blast as a major leaguer. The Yankee slugger's 36th homer of the season, off Bert Cole mammoth shot that travels over 575 feet, the longest in major league history, puts him ahead of Roger Connor, who connected for 138 round-trippers during his 18 years in the National League.
TRIVIA
Who is the only native of the state of Utah to become a major league manager?
Hint: #1 He oversaw the major league efforts of four Cy Young Award winners, four Rookies of the Year, seven MVPs and seven players who are now in the Hall of Fame as well as those of the first Japanese-born player to play in the majors.
Hint: #2 He was one baseball’s most infamous sign stealers.
July 18, 1927 - At Shibe Parh The Philadelphia A's 40 year old Ty Cobb makes what is celebrated at the time as his 4,000th hit, a first inning double off Sam Gibson of Detroit. Cobb’s double caroms off the glove of Detroit Tigers outfielder Harry Heilmann. Detroit wins, 5 - 3, over Lefty Grove. The research will later reveal that he had two fewer hits than was thought at the time, and that number 4,000 actually three days later, on July 21st. Cobb will hold the record for most hits until 1985, when Pete Rose surpasses him
July 18, 1939 -- The Red Sox send 21 year-old farmhand Pee Wee Reese to the Dodgers for $35,000 and a player to be named later (Red Evans), along with three minor leaguers due to a less-than-enthusiastic scouting report filed by Joe Cronin, the team's current player-manager, who deliberately downplayed the prospect's talent to keep his own job in the Boston infield. The Louisville Colonels regular shortstop, a future Hall of Famer, will become a crowd favorite, helping Brooklyn to win seven pennants during his 16 seasons with the team.
July 18, 1948, In the first game of a doubleheader at Shibe Park, Pat Seerey, chunky White Sox left fielder, hits four home runs, the last in the 11th inning, to lead Chicago to a 12 - 11 victory over the Athletics in Philadelphia. Seerey is the 5th major league player to accomplish the feat and is the only player in major league history to twice reach 15 or more total bases in a game, having totaled 15 bases in 1945. Fat Pat's first shot is over the LF bleachers' roof off Carl Scheib, the next two - off Scheib and Bob Savage - are on the roof, and the last, off Lou Brissie, into the upper LF stands. Brissie, the 5th pitcher, is the loser against Howie Judson. The A's take the second game, 6 - 1, in five innings as Seerey is 0 for 2. On the 24th, Seerey will become the first player to strike out seven times in a doubleheader.
Seerey became only the fifth player in major league history to accomplish the four homer feat. To this day, only a total of 17 players have done it.
July 18, 1951 -- The Pirates' Ralph Kiner drives in seven runs, hitting three home runs, including his 10th grand slam, in a 13 - 12 slugfest win over the Dodgers. His final homer, a solo shot off Erv Palica in the 8th, breaks a 12 - 12 tie. Manager Chuck Dressen berates Palica, publicly questioning the pitcher's courage by clutching his throat in a choke signal. In Kiner's final at bat, in the 9th, Carl Furillo pulls down the slugger's long drive near the CF gate. Joe Garagiola and Gus Bell also homer for the Bucs, while Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson homer for Brooklyn.
July 18, 1957 - At Ebbets Field Brooklyn Dodger slugger Gil Hodges hits his 12th career grand slam to tie the National League record of Rogers Hornsby and Ralph Kiner, as the Dodgers edge the Cards, 10 - 9. St. Louis remains a game behind the Phils. The slam comes against the Cardinals' Wilmer Mizell with one out in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game.
The Cardinals had scored seven runs in the top of the 9th to take the lead. The Dodger's walk-off in the bottom of the 10th when Duke Snider scored on an Eddie Kasko throwing error.
July 18, 1964 -- At Crosley Field, Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose hits the only grand slam of his career as he drives in six runs in the Reds' 14 - 4 home win against the Philadelphia Phillies. His grand slam is served up by his future manager, Dallas Green.
1960’s Baseball!
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July 18, 1970, 39-year-old San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays collects the 3,000th hit of his career - a second-inning single against Montreal’s Mike Wegener. The umpires stopped the game, enabling Mays to be honored in ceremonies that feature Hall of Famer Stan Musial.
Mays hit comes in his 2,639th major league game, The 'Say Hey Kid' reaches the milestone in the second inning of San Francisco's 10-1 rout of Montreal at Candlestick Park. He joins Hank Aaron, who stroked his 3,000th a month earlier. Aaron's was hit in his 2,460th game.
July 18, 1972 -- San Diego's Steve Arlin takes a no-hitter against Philadelphia into the 9th inning before settling for a second straight two-hitter.
Denny Doyle's single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning spoils Arlin's bid for a no-hitter. Doyle's hit was a bloop single over the head of 3B Dave Roberts, playing in for a possible bunt. The Philadelphia second baseman advances to second on a balk by the right-hander, scoring on Tom Hutton's single, but the 26 year-old gets Greg Luzinski to fly out to center, preserving the Padres' 5-1 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium During the season, Arlin will notch three two-hitters, a one-hitter, and a 10-inning one-hit stint, yet compile a 10-21 record.
July 18, 1975 -- In a 9 - 3 win over the Kansas City Royals, Boston's Jim Rice clouts a tremendous homer over the CF wall at Fenway Park, to the right of the flag pole, just the 6th player to accomplish this feat. Owner Tom Yawkey calls it the longest shot he's ever seen at Fenway. The others: Detroit's Hank Greenberg, on May 22, 1937; Boston's Jimmie Foxx, on August 12, 1937; Yankee Bill Skowron, on April 20, 1957; Boston's Carl Yastrzemski, on May 16, 1970; Brewer Bobby Mitchell, on September 29, 1973.
July 18, 1987, At Arlington Stadium, With his home run leading off the top of the fourth inning off Jose Guzman New York Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly ties a major league record when he homers in his eighth consecutive game. Mattingly connects in a 7-2 loss to the Texas Rangers, matching a 31-year-old record set by Dale Long set in 1956.
Cubs vs Giants 1987
Yankees vs Tigers 1987
Blue Jays vs Angels 1988
Quote of the day:
“It was like the stars aligned,” David Cone said “You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery.”
Milestones
Birthdays:Notable: Joe Torre | Debuts:Notable: Steve Rogers |
Final Games:Highlights: | Passings:Notable: Dale Long |
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