I'm listening to the FAN, and they just played a sound bite from Joe
Torre. He was commenting on how much the team is going to miss David
this year, not only his presence in the clubhouse but they will miss
him taking the ball every five days.

He wishes David well.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone - now let's PLAY BALL!

This item was in one of the papers. It must have come from the
soundbite I heard on the radio:

Cheering Cone? Torre said he spoke to David Cone,
who is preparing for camp in Fort Myers with the Red Sox.

"I told him I couldn't root for him," Torre said. "I still think he
can win games. We're definitely going to miss him, and
not just him taking the ball every fifth day."

----------------------------

I took a look at the Red Sux website (please don't tell anyone!). They
have David listed on the roster as #36!

Tuesday, July 20, 1999

Fame? Cone's Almost Perfect  
Joe: He's had Hall of career 
By RALPH VACCHIANO 
Daily News Sports Writer

David Cone's performance Sunday secured him a place in history. Only
time will tell if it will help him secure a spot in the Hall of Fame.

It certainly couldn't hurt, considering Cone's numbers make him a
longshot, even though he has had a remarkable career in New York. The
odds are even steeper, according to manager Joe Torre, because Cone's
best attributes are things not everyone gets to see.

"I'm not sure there's enough credit for the heart that you have,"
Torre said. "It's tough for somebody across the country to get a feel
for David Cone. You have to be around him to see what he means to
everybody around him. I think that should be marked, but that's a
personal observation and it's really tough to try to include that."

Cone, incidentally, has under his belt a 178-97 career record and two
20-win seasons (a record 10 years apart).  Most impressive is the fact
that he has gone 45-18 since he had surgery to remove an aneurysm from
his right shoulder.

Jinx? What Jinx? The baseball world is not as superstitious as it used
to be, which is why it wasn't that big a deal for radio broadcasters
John Sterling and Michael Kay to begin talking about the possibility
of a perfect game Sunday as early as the third inning. Only they had
no idea one of their listeners just happened to be the pitcher in
question.

"I could hear it on the radio," said Cone, who was in Torre's office
between innings. "I'm not a big believer in jinxes, but I heard
'perfect game' about 100 times yesterday for four or five innings.
Believe me, there's nothing to that jinx because I heard it and it
didn't work."

Get Ready, Regis: First up on Cone's victory tour will be an
appearance with Regis Philbin & Kathie Lee Gifford this morning. And
that's an opportunity Cone has been hoping for since his early days
with the Mets.

"I've got a bone to pick with Regis," he said. "He was the guy that
was the hardest on me when I argued with the umpire and the two
baserunners scored in Atlanta that day. He was pretty hard on me. I'll
get him back for that."

His next stop will be with David Letterman tomorrow night. He also is
considering invitations to make the rounds on the network morning
shows. 

Perfect Replay: MSG will replay the perfect game Thursday from 7-10
p.m., complete with postgame interviews.

Near Miss: Infielder Jeff Manto nearly missed Sunday's historic
achievement when he was sent to the hospital with heat exhaustion
prior to the game. He was fine, however, and returned in time to join
the celebration on the mound.

If you get CNN/SI, put it on right now - (6:40 NY time). They're going
to show David at spring training camp!

For those of you who missed it, he looked wonderful. He was wearing
non-baseball shorts, t-shirt and cap. They showed him in the Boston
spring training camp, tossing to someone (but they didn't show the
catcher). Then they had him on camera (close-up!) talking about how
he's still getting used to the idea of being a Red Sock. He said it
will probably hit him most when he puts on the uniform and looks in
the mirror for the first time. Also when he goes to Yankee Stadium to
pitch the first time, or Fenway to pitch there. He said it's very
exciting for him. He looked wonderful!

Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Cone Puts Party on Hold 
By RALPH VACCHIANO 
Daily News Sports Writer

When David Wells tossed his perfect game a year ago May, New York City
braced for the shock waves from the celebration. This time, however,
Gotham can relax.

David Cone was still in a bit of a daze yesterday, one day after he
pitched the 16th perfect game in major-league history. And while he
fully intended to enjoy the attention he knows is coming his way, he
had something a little more important on his mind.

"You want to please everybody and you want to do everything, but I've
got to pitch Friday night against Cleveland," Cone said. "That, to me,
is the thing that's paramount in my mind right now, to not get too
caught up in this thing because we've got a long way to go and I've
got a tough game Friday night."

So far, so good. A "frazzled" Cone said he had a relatively peaceful
24 hours since he mowed down all 27 Expos he faced on Yogi Berra Day.
He said he spent most of his time on the phone with his family,
including his parents who listened to the game back in Kansas City via
the Internet.

After the calls, he went out with a few teammates to celebrate his
place in history. Then it was back to the ballpark for the first stop
in what could be a long media tour. He'll be filling requests in every
city and is expecting to appear with David Letterman and Regis &
Kathie Lee.

Maybe then he will get a chance to catch his breath and ponder what he
has accomplished. He said yesterday he still has the same sense he had
on the mound in the ninth inning, when he watched the final out settle
into Scott Brosius' glove.

"My reaction, you could tell I was almost in disbelief," Cone said. "I
was kind of dumbfounded, pointing at the ball in the sky as if nobody
saw it. 'There it is, right there.'"

The ball, by the way, was the only piece of memorabilia Cone took from
the game, and he immediately sent it off to his dad. The pitching
rubber is on the way to Cooperstown. Manager Joe Torre took one of the
game balls.

"Everything else I just sort of left in my locker," Cone said.  "I
haven't really checked to see if anything's missing today."

There were a few additions, though, including a bouquet a flowers, a
balloon and a bottle of Champagne sent by pitcher John Franco and PR
man Jay Horwitz, two old friends from the Mets.

As for what awaits the third Yankee in history to throw a perfect
game, Cone wasn't sure. He has a good sense of how such a feat can
change someone's life after he watched Wells go through it last year.
And though he hasn't figured it all out exactly just yet, he said he
knew things were different minutes after the game.

"You don't know which way to turn," Cone said. "I was completely
disoriented for a period of time. I probably still am today."

He probably will be for the next two days as his victory tour begins.
And that's fine with Cone, as long as he regains control by his next
turn.

"The last thing I want to do is live it up this week," he said, "and
then go out and get my butt kicked Friday night."

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- It was a strange sight-David Cone wearing the
dark blue jersey with the red letters "RED SOX" on the front.

Almost as strange as the former Cy Young Award winner's struggles last
year in New York Yankees pinstripes. Now he's with their rival trying
to revive his career.

"I still feel a lot of confidence or else I wouldn't try to make this
bold of a move," he said. "It takes some guts."

Instead of warming up with Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte
and Orlando Hernandez with New York, Cone played catch Sunday with
non-roster pitcher Allen McDill at Boston's first official spring
training workout.

Cone, 38, left a team where he'd been part of four championships in
five seasons for one that hasn't won the World Series since 1918.
"When you have a run like we've had, it's always difficult. It's
somewhat like a divorce," he said. "It's a tough business at times and
I had a horrible year."

He knew he'd have to fight for the No. 5 spot in the Yankees rotation
and was offered a guarantee of $500,000 after making $12 million last
season.

With the Red Sox, he could win the No. 2 slot behind Pedro Martinez
and can earn up to $4 million if he pitchers regularly, plus another
$1 million if he's AL comeback player of the year.  Other candidates
are Rolando Arrojo, Hideo Nomo and Frank Castillo.

Texas made a better offer and Toronto and Kansas City showed interest
in Cone as a reliever. But Cone decided on the Red Sox, partly because
manager Jimy Williams and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan went to Tampa
last month to watch him throw.

"Boston gives me the best chance to win the World Series," Cone said.
"I didn't have a whole lot of opportunities this winter, considering
the year I had."

He also was attracted by the passion of the Boston fans, "I need that
edge," he said. "The first time I walk into Yankee Stadium with a Red
Sox uniform on and the first time I walk into Fenway and pitch there,
it's certainly going to be an exciting feeling."

From 1996-99, Cone was 51-24 and threw a perfect game. He hadn't had
an ERA above 3.60 since 1987. But last year, he was 4-14 with a 6.91
ERA in 30 games and lost eight straight decisions in a 15-start
winless streak.

"You go almost four months without winning a game, it becomes a huge
gorilla on your back," Cone said. "I felt the pressure."

Part of his problem was not throwing enough the previous offseason, a
pattern he changed after last season. He said he was healthy and was
snapping out of his slump when he dislocated his left shoulder on
Sept. 5.

He hopes to prove last season, his 15th in the majors, was a fluke.
"I'm reluctant to make any excuses," Cone said. "I come here with no
guarantees. I still have to prove myself."

Cone improved from last Monday to Friday, the last two times he threw
off a mound, Kerrigan said, but "it's too early to tell" if the Red
Sox got a steal by signing him.

For now, Cone is back in Fort Myers, where he attended his first
spring training with Kansas City in the early '80s at Terry Park, two
miles north of the Red Sox complex. Boston teammate Bret Saberhagen
played with him there, too.

"The team expects to win when he's out on the mound," Saberhagen said.
Williams was impressed with Cone's arm strength.

"We see what we think is a healthy arm and we understand the pitcher
that he's been," Williams said. "Maybe he had a tough year last year,
but other good pitchers have had tough years, too, and bounced back.
He understands how to pitch big games and win big games."

One of those could come in April, when the Red Sox and Yankees face
each other seven times, starting April 13 with the opener of a
four-game series at Fenway Park. With the new unbalanced schedule, the
AL East rivals meet 19 times this season.

"That was another motivating factor for me," Cone said. "I'd rather be
in the heat of the battle and have some heat come my way than be
forgotten."

susan peters ~ [email protected]

FORT MYERS, FL — David Cone has five World Series rings. So do the Boston
Red Sox. The Red Sox have taken over 100 years to amass their total. It's taken
Cone 91 fewer seasons. 

But that doesn't keep the right-hander from wanting more. 

Red Sox pitching coach Joe Kerrigan was right there pushing the 38-year-old to
his limit Friday morning during his 15-minute mound session at the Red Sox
minor league complex in Fort Myers. 

"Yes, that's what I want to see!" chirps Kerrigan from a squatted catcher's
position. "Now, two strikes, let's see the two-seam (fastball)." 

Cone nods in acceptance. 

The ball pops Kerrigan's mitt on the outside corner. 

"Yeah, baby," Kerrigan chimes, doing his best Austin Powers impersonation.
"That's what I like to see." 

In an ironic twist, Cone is returning this spring to the same city that hosted
his first major league training camp experience in the 1980s. Cone —
along with fellow Red Sox veteran Bret Saberhagen — both came up through
the Kansas City system. The Royals, at the time, were training in Fort Myers. 

"Good ol' Terry Park," remembers Cone. "I don't even know if it's still there.
It's tough bringing that up because it REALLY does date Bret and me." 

Cone came out Friday morning and had his most encouraging day yet on the mound
since arriving at the Red Sox minor league complex. 

"He's looking stronger and stronger everyday," says the Sox pitching coach.
"The more he throws, the more comfortable he looks." 

Cone, who is entering his 16th Major League season, is trying to forget a
disastrous 2000 regular season in which he went 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA for the
New York Yankees. 

"I went four months without a win. That was difficult. I have to prove I'm
ready. But I'm excited for that chance to go out there and do it." 

Kerrigan, for his part, has no reservations about penciling the 1994 AL Cy
Young Award-winner into the number two spot, at least for spring training. 

"I expect David to make his first assignment of the spring and then we'll go
from there. We're really dealing with the unknown but he's worked so hard since
November and shown he's ready to compete for a job that I think he deserves a
chance to make a start early in our rotation. Someone has to start two, three
and four and so on, so why not David right now?" 

Cone, who appreciates the respect given to his 15-year Major League track
record, says that only helps his mindset in camp. 

"That's great. It's really encouraging to me for Joe to come out and say that.
It shows that he thinks I can be ready physically and mentally to help the
club." 

Cone leaves a team behind in New York that won four World Series titles in his
five years there, making for somewhat of a bittersweet off-season. 

"I've talked to a few of them. It's strange. They all know what happened down
there last season and they've wished me well. But it's somewhat like a divorce.
Just a strange feeling." 

While he's certain to pitch against the Yankees if he secures a Boston roster
spot during camp, he won't be using his former manager Joe Torre as motivation. 

"Joe's a class act. He was legitimately worried for me in the month or so after
the season ended. He didn't know if anyone would pick me up and he knew the
situation I was in after last season. But it worked out." 

Still, the 2001 season for Cone hinges on recovering from the only sub-.500
season of his career. He'll be relying on his new coaches and teammates in
Boston, not his old ones in the Bronx, to return to form. 

"There's several variables we've been able to pinpoint and some others we're
still working on. Things like mechanics and pitch selection. Joe (Kerrigan) and
I have talked a lot about first-pitch strikes, but not just for strikeouts but
getting people out with groundballs early in the count. And you do that by
throwing strikes. 

"Our initial conversation was based around some of the bad habits I had picked
up. What he thought and what I thought. Like becoming predictable with my
off-speed pitch in certain situations with runners in scoring position." 

Kerrigan says Cone has made significant progress from the end of last season,
to November to now. 

"From what I saw today, David really surprised me with the amount of movement
on his sinker and his two-seam (fastball), says Kerrigan. "David's stuff is
still real good. I was expecting to see an average splitter from him. What I
saw was a sharp breaking pitch that acted more like a true forkball, a quick
break at the end." 

According to Kerrigan, even the most experienced pitchers can fall into bad
habits by trying to do too much. 

"I think when you to find added velocity, you tend to 'over-body' the ball. You
get into some bad habits. I just told him that simple and smaller is better
with regard to his delivery. We don't need David to throw 90-91. If he's
consistently upper 80s, he'll be fine because of his experience and his stuff." 

Cone says he'll be spending a good portion of this spring looking to regain
command of not only his physical tools but a mental toughness that has been
worth 184 career big league wins. 

"I need to find that edge. That's what I have to prove. There are no guarantees
down here."

http://www.geocities.com/coney36_nyy/

Hi everyone!  First of all I'd like to thank you all, Susan especially,
for the articles and pictures you have recently sent!  They are all
fabulous, the perfect game reminiscent ones made for some nice warm-heart
moments...though those Red Sox articles were really exciting to read!
David sounds like he is doing very well, and the Sox staff seems to be
quite impressed with him, *yay*!

The picture gallery is almost finished!  I still have a few 2000 season
pictures to add, but the main picture page is up and running again in its
new form.  The front page has also been updated, and throughout the course
of Spring Training expect to see many updates and slight changes on all of
the site's pages!

Thanks again!!

Take care~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                     --KC :)

Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Cone & Girardi Add Up to Perfect Pair 
By RALPH VACCHIANO 
Daily News Sports Writer

Even if he wanted to, Joe Girardi couldn't think of anything to say to
David Cone during Sunday's game.

"I mean, what are you going to say?" the catcher said. "Keep it up?"

At least that would have been one of the more pleasant exchanges
Girardi has had with Cone, who by his own admission is "volatile and
flaky on the mound." It's Girardi's job to catch his slider as well as
his abuse.

And Girardi is pretty good at it, which is why the 34-year-old catcher
has formed such a special bond with Cone even before catching his
perfect game. Cone believes Girardi's calm, quiet demeanor is exactly
what he needs.

"He always knows how to say the right thing at the right time," Cone
said. "Maybe a younger catcher or a different catcher might get a
little angry with me because I have a tendency to show some emotions
on the mound that a catcher might interpret as showing him up. But Joe
has a great personality."

Girardi's ability to handle Cone and the rest of the pitching staff is
a huge reason why he was even in a Yankee uniform Sunday. This was
supposed to be Jorge Posada's season behind the plate. Manager Joe
Torre had to convince management in the offseason to pick up Girardi's
$3.4 million option and bring him back.

Posada was almost a late addition to Sunday's lineup because he has
been hitting so well. But in the end, Torre decided to stick with the
catcher who had the most experience handling Cone, something that
isn't always easy to do.

"You don't notice it until it comes out," Girardi said. "His emotions
are more bottled up, bottled up ... come out, as opposed to a guy who
lets it out all the time. David, you see his face turn redder and
redder and redder and then it comes out.

"But no, I've never taken it personally. Actually, there's been times
where I've walked back to the catcher's circle and kind of had a
laugh."

He laughs because Girardi understands that emotions are part of any
pitcher's game and it's his job to know which buttons to push. As
Torre said, "The day of a game, pitchers should be wound tighter than
a clock." Girardi just has to be there when they snap.

"Obviously it's a game where we're supposed to keep our emotions under
wrap, but that's impossible," Girardi said. "So if he makes a bad
pitch and he snaps, it doesn't bother me because I know it's in the
heat of the moment. I think that's one of the reasons that we get
along."

Another reason is Girardi's philosophy that "the pitcher-catcher
relationship has to be almost like a best friend relationship when
you're out on the field, where they feel like you'll do anything for
them." And the feeling, obviously, is mutual. Cone hasn't stopped
talking about Girardi since they embraced after Sunday's last out. And
he even brought Girardi along to yesterday's keys-to-the-city ceremony
at City Hall.

As for Girardi, who will be given home plate from Sunday's game, he is
more than just a passenger on Cone's wild ride. It may be remembered
as Cone's perfect game, but a big part belongs to the man behind the
mask.

"It means a huge amount to me," Girardi said. "Obviously you can call
every right pitch and if they don't throw it where it's supposed to
be, the right pitch doesn't really matter. But I take a lot of pride
in what happened out there."

susan peters ~ [email protected]

Monday,February 19,2001 
By Joel Sherman/NY Post


FORT MYERS - He slipped into a new uniform just like he would any
other. David Cone did not stare at his Red Sox duds or struggle to put
on the colors of what, until the last few months, had been his great
baseball enemy. 

For the first time, Cone donned Boston's red, white and blue late
yesterday morning, dressing at his locker while talking to reporters.
Not once did he break sentence to either commemorate or soak in the
moment. 

He was still No. 36, a benefit of reliever Tom Gordon leaving as a
free agent. He admitted it took awhile for clubhouse attendants to
find pants that fit right. Only when asked what was the strangest
aspect of wearing this uniform did Cone really stop to inspect
himself, finally settling on the little red socks on the side of his
cap and saying, "Those things." 

After 51/2 seasons as a Yankee, Cone has moved to his fifth team and
into hired-gun mode again. He has a chameleon quality, able to morph
his  conversation from raunchy to philosophical to whimsical,
depending on the audience. Able to size up a reporter's angle and
quickly adjust his answers. Able to be both a true Met and a true
Yankee. Able to move into a new baseball habitat and almost instantly
adapt to the surroundings. 

What Cone longs for most now is to morph again into the old David
Cone. After enduring a 4-14 record and 6.91 ERA in by far his worst
season, the veteran righty says he signed with the Red Sox not only
because the Yankees never really wanted him back, but because he had
to come back to show "last year was the aberration." 

"Where I stand, I had to pitch again," Cone said. "I couldn't stand on
last year. I needed to have fun again. I needed to leave this game
with a really good taste in my mouth." 

Off last season - a $12 million dud - the Yankees never actually made
Cone an offer, the Mets did not even attempt the token variety. Pride
kept him from pushing the issue with either. But pride also screamed
to prove the New York teams wrong. That, at 38, he was not washed up.
He began throwing around Thanksgiving, taking along a friend to a
Tampa Little League field, and finding - he says - both the desire and
the stuff to go on. 

The Rangers wanted him for the rotation, the Blue Jays talked bullpen,
Kansas City wanted to bring the native son home to close. But then Red
Sox manager Jimy Williams and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan watched him
throw in Tampa. Boston guaranteed $1 million just to show up in
spring, $1 million more if he makes the 25-man roster and the
potential for another $2 million if he reaches 30 starts and 200
innings.  

But the greatest guarantee, he says, was the juice. The possibility to
stay in the Northeast in a baseball-crazy city, playing in an historic
stadium and remaining in the great rivalry, albeit on the other side.
"I need that toughness, I need that edge, I need those high
expectations." The chameleon called switching sides in this feud "a
natural fit." 

With the unbalanced schedule, the Yankees and Red Sox will play six
series, the first beginning April 13 at Fenway Park. Therefore, Cone
can prove in person - from 60 feet, six inches away - that he had more
left. That the Yankees should have made a real effort to keep not just
his leadership, but his arm. 

"I'd rather be in the middle of the rivalry than some place else
forgotten," Cone said. "It's better to be booed than forgotten." 

It is unlikely, at least initially, that he will be either at Yankee
Stadium, when Boston visits for the first time from April 20-22.
Yankee fans cheered such returning players as Jim Leyritz, Mike
Stanley and Randy Velarde. And Cone
meant more - as a pitcher and as a pitchman. 

Still, a stack of mail with a Red Sox cap atop it sat unopened above
Cone's locker because he was leery of reading traitor insults. He
admits being disappointed by a New York notion that he lacked loyalty
to stay, explaining his last two Yankee contracts were for one year,
when he had multi-year possibilities elsewhere for greater dollars. 

But now he is gone, an exile from baseball Eden. The Yankees have
finished first in the AL East each of the last three seasons, Boston
second. That served as a metaphor for the last eight decades, the
Yankees winning 26 titles since getting Babe Ruth from Boston, the Red
Sox winning none. 

He arrives to a place where the manager did not arrive until yesterday
- the first day of workouts - the GM wass said to be in Disney World,
though Dan Duquette's communication skills make that hard to pin down,
and the team's biggest star, Pedro Martinez, did not report and does
not plan to until Thursday. The military precision of Yankee camp is
in his past. And so is the comfort. 

He walked out of the Red Sox minor-league clubhouse yesterday in that
new uniform, and said to a familiar face, "How do I look?" Cone lined
up to play catch and before he did, his partner, Allen McDill, had to
shake hands and introduce himself. For the first time in 15 years,
Cone says he is just trying to make a team despite Kerrigan's praise
that he will be the No. 2 starter, right behind Martinez. 

Cone likes the mental edge of being an underdog and sees himself
fitting in with a cast of castoffs like him such as Bret Saberhagen,
Kent Mercker, Hideo Nomo, Tim Wakefield and Frank Castillo. 
David Cone is on the other side of the rivalry, making a last-ditch
Hall-of-Fame run and trying to be a champion with a team that has not
been a champion in 82 seasons.  He is trying to leave 2000 and the
Yankees with dignity.  The chameleon is trying to bring his aura and
arm to a team that could sure use the best of both. 

For the photo -
http://www.nypostonline.com/photos/web02190170.jpg

susan peters ~ [email protected]

By CHARLIE NOBLES
NY Times
FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 18

As David Cone slipped a Boston Red Sox jersey on for the first time
today, he said the only thing that gnaws at him about his departure
from the Yankees is the notion that he had been disloyal.

"It bothers me for some people to think I owed them a year because of
last year," Cone said of his 4-14 record and 6.91 earned run average
with the Yankees last season. "I'd been on a series of one-year
contracts for some time and I could have gone elsewhere for much more
money, including '98, when I won 20 games. Some people forget that."

Cone tucked in his No. 36 jersey and continued: "Those people think I
should have capitulated and begged them for another chance. That's not
my nature. Maybe a little bit of my old foolish pride got in the way."

Cone said he was more confused than hurt that the Mets never showed
any interest in signing him. Cone, who sat between the Mets' co-owner
Fred Wilpon and General Manager Steve Phillips on the dais at the New
York baseball writers' annual dinner on Feb. 4, said, "By the end of
the night, they were somewhat apologetic" that they never called.

But Cone, a 38-year-old right-hander, is happy to have wound up with
the Yankees' most bitter rival. He finds it both exciting and weird.
Cone said he could have signed a guaranteed contract with the Texas
Rangers, but opted for a make-good deal with Boston; he could be cut
within 15 days of spring training's end and receive just $160,000.

"In some regard, I feel like a rookie again, like I'm starting all
over," he said. "You're always looking for an edge, and the edge I can
get in Boston is something I need to thrive on. I need that toughness.
I need high expectations."

The similarities between the Red Sox and the Yankees are striking to
Cone. Both have rabid followers. Both spend big money to contend.
"People might find this hard to believe, but this seemed like a
natural fit for me," he said. "There's a passion and emotion for
baseball in Boston that reminds me of what I left in New York."

With the unbalanced schedule this season, the Yankees and Red Sox will
see plenty of each other. It has even occurred to Cone that he might
get a start when the teams play early in the season, inasmuch as
Manager Jimy Williams has him tentatively slotted as the team's No. 2
starter. He doesn't expect a rousing cheer from Yankees fans. "But I'd
rather be in the middle of this rivalry than forgotten somewhere
else," he said. "This kind of thing gets me going."

Cone is aware that some may wonder why a pitcher in the twilight of
his career would want to risk humiliation should last year turn out
not to be an aberration.

"I'm sure they think I'm in denial," he said. "But last year I didn't
see any clear-cut signs that showed me I needed to walk away. There
was more confusion to why I couldn't fix what was broken. There
was never a sense in my mind that: 'You know what, I've lost a lot
here. My arm's killing me. I need to walk away.' "

A Cy Young award winner (1994) and five-time All-Star, Cone gained a
reputation as a big-game pitcher en route to winning 184 games.

"I don't want to get into long- winded excuses, because none of them
are any good," said Cone, who has played for five World Series
champions. "I'd like to think it was a little bit of an aberration."

Cone showed up in Tampa, Fla., before Thanksgiving to begin a pitching
regimen. The previous two seasons, he stayed away from baseball in the
off-season. This time he wanted to make sure that first, he still had
the desire to pitch, and second, he could still succeed. He worked out
at a field with a friend. "I threw as much as I possibly could," he
said. "From a throwing standpoint, I'm probably more prepared than I
have ever been at this point."

The possible downside is that Cone, who had an aneurysm removed from
his right arm in 1996, may wear down sooner than he has in past
seasons.

"I'm obviously in a situation now where there's a bit of desperation,"
he said. "I come in here with no guarantees. So what I've done this
off-season is a calculated risk, but I felt I had to."


susan peters ~ [email protected]

*** Cone hopes for quiet talks on labor agreement

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - David Cone understands secrecy may help
baseball labor talks. He'd like the first public news to be that
a new collective bargaining agreement has been reached. "In
general, it's a positive that things can possibly get done behind
closed doors," the Boston Red Sox pitcher and players' union
official said Monday. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could just
suddenly wake up and hear an announcement that a deal is done?"
The current agreement expires Oct. 31, raising the possibility of
baseball's ninth work stoppage. The union hasn't imposed a gag
order on players. But commissioner Bud Selig fined Red Sox chief
executive officer John Harrington "several hundred thousand"
dollars for remarks attributed to him in the Boston Globe,
according to the Los Angeles Times. In January 2000, owners gave
Selig power to fine teams up to $2 million and individuals
$500,000.

---------------------------------------------------------

I thought he no longer was a union rep???  Anyone else hear differently??

Have a great day
Laura

Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Rudy to Toss Cone Another Honor 
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD 
Daily News City Hall Bureau Chief

By pitching a perfect game Sunday, Yankee David Cone was rewarded with
a spot on one of the lofty pedestals of baseball history, the
adoration of Yankee fans - and a hug from Yankees hurler Don Larsen.

Not to be outdone, the city's self-appointed arbiter of all things
Yankee - Mayor Giuliani - today will present Cone with another trophy
- the key to the city.

Cone will have to make room on his bookshelf - Giuliani has given him
two others for the Yanks' 1996 and 1998 World Series wins.

Cone's pristine pitching performance "is one of those great events in
the history of the Yankees and the sports history of New York City,"
Giuliani said yesterday.

Cone dispatched 27 consecutive Montreal Expos in a 6-0 win without
surrendering a hit or walk and without the team making an error. 
It was only the 16th perfect game in Major League history - this one
pitched on a sultry, 98-degree afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

The ceremony at City Hall is expected to be attended by Yankees
catcher Joe Girardi, who was behind the plate for Cone on Sunday.
There are few things Giuliani is more passionate about than the
Yankees. His infatuation with - and possessiveness of - the team is
one of the defining images of his mayoralty.

This is a mayor who says the job he'd really love to have is that held
by Joe Torre, the Yankees manager.

He has held ticker-tape parades for both Yankees World Series teams
crowned during his tenure. When the Yankees won the World Series last
year, Giuliani put a picture of himself in Yankee pinstripes in the
center of a group of team photographs set up along the portico at City
Hall.

When then-Yankee David Wells tossed a perfect game for the team last
year, Giuliani held an elaborate outdoor ceremony and gave him a key
to the city.

Giuliani joked that he'd been nervous about giving the symbolic key to
Wells, whose mastery on the mound is matched by his exploits on the
party circuit.

With Cone, "We can trust him with the key to the city," the mayor
said.

Giuliani might have spoken too soon. 

Wells - who was traded to Toronto in the off-season -reportedly flew
in Sunday to help Cone celebrate his perfect game.


susan peters ~ [email protected]

This is the last article on David's perfecto. Hope you've enjoyed
reliving this great event!
------------------------


Wednesday, July 21, 1999
Cone Has Lock on City Rudy pitches Yankee key for perfect game 
By MICHAEL R. BLOOD 
Daily News City Hall Bureau Chief

Yankee ace David Cone picked up a key to the city after the team won
the 1996 World Series. He added another after the Bombers' series
victory last year. Yesterday, he pocketed a third for pitching a
perfect game against the Montreal Expos on Sunday.

So what else did Mayor Giuliani give him?

An oversized New York City key ring to hold his collection.

"It's deja vu all over again," said Giuliani, quoting Yankee great
Yogi Berra as he dangled the key ring, which carried the city seal.

In a ceremony rich with Yankee tradition and trivia, and punctuated by
laughter and cheers, Giuliani saluted Cone for his performance - one
of only 16 perfect games in the history of the major leagues.

"This is a remarkable feat," the mayor said. "Ultimately, a pitcher is
out there all by himself."

The tribute took place in a committee room at City Hall, where the
standing-room only crowd included most of Giuliani's top aides and
more than a few Yankee caps.

The mayor proclaimed yesterday David Cone Day, and TV monitors
replayed the game's final moments, when, after the last out, Cone was
swamped by his teammates, who carried the 36-year-old right-hander on
their shoulders.

"I know there are many more important things going on today," Cone
said, who was flanked on the podium by manager Joe Torre and catcher
Joe Girardi, who was behind the plate during Sunday's game at Yankee
Stadium. "It's overwhelming."

"We are quite honored," Cone added.

Giuliani, the city's No. 1 Yankees fan, turned his thoughts to another
ticker-tape parade for the team - if the Yankees win another World
Series.

October "would be a really fine time for a wonderful parade," the
mayor noted.


susan peters ~ [email protected]

Susan... I know I have really enjoyed these!!

Thanks for sharing all the articles :)


Laura

What is it - the official "former Met" number?  I guess 
we knew someone else would be #36 sooner or later, but I 
didn't think this soon!

Keep smiling...:)