20 years ago today, David Cone threw his perfect game at Yankee Stadium. You almost think of magic when you remember Don Larsen threw out the first pitch to Yogi Berra, and it was the first time Yogi visited the Stadium since Steinbrenner fired him years before. And on top of that it was Joe Torre's birthday...and it turns out he was at the game when Larsen threw his perfect game in 1956. I watched that game, and it was so quick - Cone only threw 88 pitches, and it seemed like each one of them was a strike.
Here's a great oral history about the game:
Lindsay Berra, Yogi’s granddaughter: What I remember
about being in the Steinbrenner box was that, when we realized what was
happening around 4 1/2, five innings, everybody was a nervous wreck.
Nobody wanted to move, except for Donnie [Larsen] and Grandpa, who were
yapping the entire time. They couldn't understand what everyone was
getting so worked up about. They were getting up to get hot dogs and
Grandpa got his vodka, like nothing was happening.
Cone completed his perfecto having thrown just 88 pitches, by far
the fewest in any of his 56 complete games. It was also a happy
coincidence, as Berra's uniform number was No. 8.
Lindsay Berra: That's the
kind of thing that Grandpa would have just shrugged at and said, "Go
figure." I think the rest of us look at it as a crazy, mystical
coincidence, being that Grandpa caught Don's first pitch and then it
happened again. Grandpa had a really good relationship with Cone and
Girardi. For me, that game symbolizes Grandpa's second era with the
Yankees, and his ability to be there with the team that he loved.
The world moved in a blur as Cone was
whisked toward the clubhouse. Girardi, Davis and Knoblauch hoisted the
pitcher off the field, and Cone remembers overhearing someone arguing
with media relations director Rick Cerrone about who would speak with
Cone first. Cone again moved toward the bathroom in search of solitude.
Cone: I got out to the
tunnel and there's Don Larsen. I went up to him and hugged him like he
was my father. Nothing needed to be said.
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