After a 14 year feud with George Steinbrenner that stemmed from his time as manager, Yogi Berra agreed to return to Yankee Stadium on this day back in 1999. The team celebrated Yogi Berra Day by having Don Larsen throw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former catcher, and commemorate his 1956 World Series perfect game.
David Cone was on the mound against the Montreal Expos in front of 41,930 fans. 27 outs later, he became the 16th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to toss a perfect game. It was the third time a Yankee had ever thrown a perfecto, and came just one season after his good friend David Wells had thrown his. It is the last no-hitter to date by a Yankee, and the only regular season interleague perfecto.
Coney never got to a count worse than 2–0 that afternoon. The Yankees scored the bulk of their six runs in the second inning. Chili Davis walked and would come home on a Ricky Ledée home run. Scott Brosius was hit by a pitch, then was knocked in on a double by Joe Girardi. Girardi tried to stretch it into a triple, but was caught between second and third and was tagged out. Chuck Knoblauch worked a walk and then Derek Jeter hit a homer to make it 5–0. A 33 minute rain delay interrupted the game in the third, but Coney was back on the mound when play resumed. In the eighth inning, Paul O’Neill led off with a double to right and was scored on a single to center by Bernie Williams.
The sun is always a problem on a summer afternoon game at Yankee Stadium, so the defense had to be on their toes. Coney struck out Chris Widger swinging to start the ninth inning. Ryan McGuire pinch hit for Shane Andrews and hit a soft fly ball to left field for Ledée. Ledée lost the ball in the sun, but made the play and later claimed he’s not sure how he had caught it. The last batter, Orlando Cabrera, popped up to Brosius in foul territory to seal the deal and write Coney into the history books. Coney immediately fell to his knees and into the arms of Girardi. His teammates lifted him up on their shoulders and carried him off.
The lineup was nearly identical that day as it was for Wells’ perfecto the season prior. The only exceptions were that Cone had Ledée as his left fielder and Davis as his DH, while Wells was backed by Chad Curtis and Darryl Strawberry respectively. In addition, Jorge Posada was on the bench for Cone’s perfect game, but was Wells’ battery mate in ’98.
