David Cone

At 61 years old, David Cone has this physical status:

David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and WPIX.

He made his MLB debut in 1986 and spent time with five different franchises until 2003. He was a third-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1981 MLB Draft.

Cone batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In 1999, Cone pitched the 16th perfect game in baseball history.

He struck out 19 batters in his last game of the 1991 regular season, tied for second-most in a game.

He was a five-time All-Star and led the major leagues in strikeouts from 1990 to 1992, and was the 1994 Cy Young Award winner.

He set the MLB record for the most years in between 20-win seasons with 10. He was a member of five World Series championship teams, 1992-1993, 1998, 1999, and 2000 with the New York Yankees.

His 8-three seasons in baseball combined saw over 21 games and 111 innings pitched, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.80; in World Series play, he was 2.12.Cone is the subject of Roger Angell's book A Pitcher's Story: Innings with David Cone.

The Complete Count: The Education of a Pitcher, which was published in May 2019 and made the New York Times Best Seller list shortly after its unveiling, was co-wrote by Cone and Jack Curry.

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Professional baseball career

In his first two professional seasons, Cone went 22-2007 with a 2.21 earned run average. When he returned in 1984, he sat out 1983 due to an injury and went 8-12 for the Double-A Memphis Chicks. Cone converted to a relief pitcher during his second season with the Class AAA Omaha Royals (1986), and he made his Major League debut on June 8, 1986 in honor of reigning Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen. He made three more appearances out of the Royals' bullpen before returning to Omaha, where he went 8–4 with a 2.79 ERA. He returned to Kansas City after the rosters were expanded in September.

Cone was traded from Chris Jelic to the New York Mets for Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson, and Mauro Gozzo prior to the 1987 season. Cone's first season in New York City was 5-6 with a 3.71 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 21 appearances (13 starts).

Cone began the 1988 season in the bullpen but was added to the starting rotation by the first week of May. His first game shutout over the Atlanta Braves was a complete shutout, and he went on to post a 9–2 record with a 2.52 ERA in the first half of the season, earning his first All-Star nomination. Cone went 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA to finish third in National League Cy Young Award balloting for the season.

In the 1988 National League Championship Series, the Mets advanced to the National League East by fifteen affiliations over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were strong favorites over the Los Angeles Dodgers, against whom they had a 0-1 record during the regular season.

After the Mets' 3–2 victory over game one by saying Dodgers game one starter Orel Hershiser "was lucky for eight innings" and ripping closer Jay Howell: Cone became a newspaper commentator on the playoffs for the New York Daily News, sparking controversies.

Los Angeles thrashed Cone for lucru in bulletin board fashion in their second game of the playoffs, ties the series apiece. The Mets persuaded Cone to stop writing the column in Game 3 Mets victory and a complete victory in Game 6; however, series MVP and 1988 Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser returned to lead the Dodgers to the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics.

Cone covered first base on a throw from second baseman Gregg Jefferies, a well-known incident against the Atlanta Braves on April 30, 1990, which may have required retired batter Mark Lemke. Lemke's safety was incorrectly released by umpire Charlie Williams. Cone held the ball while two Braves runners (D2.4 Murphy and Ernie Whitt) scored, despite hearing Williams.

Cone spent more than five seasons with the New York Mets, the majority of the time as the team's co-ace, as well as assisting the National League in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991. In 1991, Cone went from uniform number 44 to 17 in honour of former teammate Keith Hernandez. In the fifth inning of a 3–2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, he shut down all three batters on nine total pitches, becoming the 16th National League pitcher and the 25th pitcher in major-league history to win with an immaculate batting.

Cone beat 19 Philadelphia Phillies batters at 7–0, three-hit shutout at Philadelphia on October 6, tying a national league record. His 19 strikeouts was the second-highest total in a nine-inning game, just behind Kerry Wood's 20-strike out games, Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer's single-game club record, tying Tom Seaver's single-game outfield record.

Cone was the sole Mets representative at the 1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, going 9–4 with a 2.56 ERA going into the All-Star break. Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson traded Cone to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 27, 1992, after the non-waiver trade deadline was reached, with a 56-67 record and fourteen games behind the first place Pirates.

Cone was 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 47 strikeouts in Toronto. His 261 strikeouts led the major leagues and were career-bests, as a result of his 214 strikeouts with the Mets. For the second time in his career, Cone and the Blue Jays defeated the American League East in the American League East. In 1992, the Jays defeated the Oakland Athletics and the Atlanta Braves in the World Series to win Cone's first World Series and become the first Canadian team to win the World Series. Cone went 1–1 in the postseason with a 3.22 ERA.

Cone was a free agent for the 1993 season in Kansas City, Kansas. Despite an 11-14 record, Cone had a record in 1993, pitching 254 innings with a 3.33 ERA, or 138 ERA+. He went from 16-five (1.81 ERA+) in the 1994-shortened season to win the American League Cy Young Award (171 ERA+), and finish ninth in MVP polling. Cone was a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association in games that surrounded the 1994 baseball strike.

The Royals traded Cone back to the Blue Jays for Chris Stynes, David Sinnes, and Tony Medrano, just four days after the strike ended. Cone was 9-6 with a 3.38 ERA for Toronto, but the Jays were 35-47 and in fifth place when they signed a contract with the second-place New York Yankees, who were in fifth place. The Blue Jays sent Cone, Jason Jarvis, and Mike Gordon to the Yankees on July 28, 1995.

The Yankees were on a six-game winning streak when they bought Cone, but they were still trailing the Boston Red Sox for the division lead when they acquired Cone. Con tablet as the Yankees won the wild card in the first season of the new three division, wild card format, Cone made the team's ace and set a new 9-2 record. Cone won the first game of the 1995 American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners in his third season as a starter, with the score tied at four. The Mariners won the game in extra innings to ban the Yankees from the playoffs.

In the offseason, the Yankees re-signed Cone to a three-year deal worth $19.5 million. Cone was 4–1 with a 2.02 ERA when he was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his arm in 1996 and went on the disabled list for the majority of the year. irs: Cone pitched a no-hitter through seven innings against the Oakland Athletics in September, getting him to leave due to pitch count limitations. Mariano Rivera accepted an infield single, bringing an end to the no-hit bid.

For the second time in thirteen seasons, the Yankees returned to the postseason. Cone ran back in game three of the American League Championship Series in 1996 with a six-inning, one run victory over the Yankees in their first World Championship in eighteen years after losing to the Texas Rangers in game one of the 1996 American League Championship Series and a no vote in the 1996 American League Championship Series.

In 1998, Cone went 20-7, a Major League record for the longest stretch of 20-win seasons at 11, beating Jim Kaat's record of 8. Cone beat the Rangers in 1998 American League Division Series clinching game in the American League Championship Series clinching round, as well as Game Three of the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres. In the AL Cy Young poll, Cone came in fourth place.

He re-signed with the Yankees in 1999 for $8 million. On July 18, he went 12–9 in 1999, pitching his 16th perfect game in baseball history against the Montreal Expos. It was the last no- bancary by a Yankee until 2021, and the first in a regular season interleague perfect game. The game was made even more interesting by the fact that it was "Yogi Berra Day" at Yankee Stadium. After a long feud with owner George Steinbrenner, Berra decided to return to the stadium that day. Don Larsen, who threw a flawless game for the Yankees in the 1956 World Series, was caught by Yogi Berra in the ceremonial first pitch. After the final of Cone's undefeated game was announced, Larsen could be seen smiling in the press box. Cone was greeted by Larsen and Berra, who all wrapped him in a bear hug after the game.

He seemed to have lost a lot of steam after the perfect game. It was the last time he'd throw in his career. He set the worst record of his career in 2000, 4–14, but his ERA increased to 6.91, more than double his mark last year. Cone was brought in during game four of the 2000 World Series to face Mike Piazza, a controversial decision at the time, but Denny Neagle had taken a home run to Piazza in his previous at-bat, but he was only able to win if you met the minimum five innings. Cone brought a pop-up to put an end to the innings. It was the first batter he faced in the entire Series.

Since the 2000 season, Cone knew that his time with the Yankees was over. Cone pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2001, a mix of bad and good results, including a 9–7 win-loss record and a 4.31 ERA. Cone's 2001 season began with a humiliating 1–0 loss against Yankees ace Mike Mussina, wherein Cone pitched 8+13 innings giving up one unearned run, keeping the game close even as Mike Mussina came within one strike of turning a perfect game and leaving Cone the first pitcher to pitch a perfect game and leaving Cone the losing pitcher in another.

Cone was forced to miss the 2002 season but the Mets made a comeback in 2003. Cone made it to the Mets' 1–3 record in four starts with a 6.50 ERA. He announced his resignation soon after his last game for the Mets on May 28, citing a persistent hip injury.

After Luis Tiant's pitching, Cone modeled his pitching. It saved Tiant's arm by imitating Tiant's pitching style. The drawback is that it put a lot of wear and tear on his hips.

Cone:

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