David Cone was a key member of the late-90s Yankees dynasty, going 64-40 with a 3.91 ERA from 1995-2000. He won Game 3 of the 1996 World Series to begin a Yankee comeback from 2-0 against Atlanta. He won 20 games on the 1998 team that went 114-48. And he pitched a perfect game on July 18, 1999.
Now a broadcaster, he’s a fan favorite who has given up Old-Timers’ Day home runs to Jesse Barfield, Tino Martinez and Hideki Matsui. He spoke to NY Sports Day before Sunday’s Old-Timers’ Day.
NYSD: Who hits the home run today?
DC: I don’t know. I’m still negotiating as we speak, so I don’t know. Maybe Posada. We’ll see. We’ll see how it shakes down.
NYSD: Which World Series here meant the most to you?
DC: It’s always the first. You know, ’96 team, we kind of stole it from the Braves. It was a comeback, nobody expected, the expectations were low, there was a long stretch between the last World Series, almost 18 years since the late 70s. So the stars were aligned right for that.
NYSD: What does this mean, coming back to you each year?
DC: To me it’s great because you can connect the dots to the generations. Guys like Dr. Bobby Brown played with Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford. You kind of link up the generations, and that’s pretty remarkable to think about.
NYSD: Did you have a favorite old-timer when you were playing?
DC: Yes. Moose Skowron and Hank Bauer were great to talk to. They were so nice, so funny. I miss them probably the most of all. They were great guys, great guys.