n
n
n
—1999
—1999n
n
n
n
n
nBaseballnhas always seemed just a little too slow and boring to watch, I’venalways thought. And a perfect game must just start out sooooooooonboring.
n
n
n
n
n
nBecausenin that game, one team would just never get on base. No hits, nonruns. No walks. No errors (at least, none that result with a playerngetting on base!) A shut-out. A no-hitter. n
n
n
n
n
n
nButnthen..through all the haze of boredom—hey, nothing’s happeningnhere—the audience would start to realize: hey, so far, it’s anperfect game!
n
n
n
n
n
nAndnthat doesn’t happen very often. So all of a sudden a boring gamenwould become an exciting game.
n
n
n
n
n
nAndnI imagine that’s what happened in Yankee Stadium when David Cone wasnpitching for the New York Yankees on this date in 1999. I imagine thenhome crowd beginning to whisper that the game had been perfect fornCone, so far—whispering because they would not want to jinx it. (Ofncourse, I’m playing here—there’s no such thing as magically jinxingnsomething!) The fans would all be wondering if a Montreal Expo playernwould get a hit and spoil Cone’s perfect game. Would one of thenYankee fielders not get to a fly ball, or maybe make an error? WouldnCone himself let down, somehow, and walk somebody?
There was anrain delay. I can just imagine people thinking, once we’re back fromnthis rain delay, the perfect game is going to go right down thentubes!
n
n
n
n
n
nButnExpo player after Expo player took the plate and was out – out –nout. Cone kept up the pitching, and the Yankees backed him up withnexcellent fielding. One time the right fielder had to make a divingncatch to keep the perfect game going. Another time an Expo hit a ballnhard between first and second base. The second baseman shot an expertnthrow to make the out and save the game.
n
n
n
n
n
nInnthe meantime, the Yankees scored five runs! There was a walk and anbatter who got on because he was hit by a pitch; Yankees made singlesnand doubles and two home runs! (Hmm…I guess this was NEVER a boringngame. My apologies to baseball fans everywhere!)
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThatnlast inning would have been very exciting! Everyone knew by now whatnwas on the line. So far in more than a century of Major LeaguenBaseball history, there had only been 15 perfect games. The 42,000nfans must have been holding their collective breath while watchingnCone pitch to what they hoped would be the last three batters. Thenfirst batter was up—and Cone struck him out. Then the second batternhit a big, soft, easy-to-catch fly ball into left field. But…itnwasn’t so easy to catch, because the summer afternoon sun was exactlynwhere the ball was. Left fielder Ricky Ledee was blinded andnstruggled to find the ball in the sky, but he somehow made the catch!nAnd then the last batter popped up a foul ball—and the thirdnbaseman caught it, too! n
n
n
n
n
n
nDavidnCone had pitched the 16th perfect game in all of baseballnhistory, and he fell on his knees, right into the arms of hisncatcher!
n
n
n
n
n
nAlsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nExtreme Vehicle Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nActivist and statesman Nelson Mandela’s birthday
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
