He was a Cone Head !!!"
When you hear the name the New York Mets what is the first thing that comes to your mind. Okay Okay except for the recent Madoff scandal and the past four years of futility . I bet your answer would be the Mets overabundance of pitching. Yes through the years the Mets have had their share of high caliber pitcher, starting with Seaver and Koosman and most recently Santana and Pelfrey.
But one of the best pitchers to ever hurl that white sphere for the Mets comes in at number 29 on this list of top 50 Mets of all time. Ladies and gentleman – David Cone.
David Brian Cone was born in Kansas City Missouri on January 2, 1963. When he was 18, David was drafted in the third round of the 1981 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by his hometown Kansas City Royals.
Cone pitched extremely well while playing for the Royals farm teams. In two seasons he would have a combined record of 22-7 with a 2.21 ERA. He would make his Major League debut as a a reliever. His first appearance came in relief of Royals ace , Brett Saberhagen.
Just before the ’87 season was to start, The Royals stupidly traded Cone to the Mets for back up catcher, Ed Hearn , relief pitchers Rick Anderson and Mauro Gozzo and outfielder Chris Jelic. It was Frank Cashen’s best post World Series deal. In his first season with the Mets, Cone went 5–6 with a 3.71 ERA and 68 strikeouts .
Things would all come together for Cone in ’88. He would begin the season in the bullpen, but he was added to the starting rotation that May. In his first start he would throw a complete game shut out against the Atlanta Braves. David earned a spot on the All Star team after posting a 9-2 record and a minuscule ERA of 2.52. He would finish third in the Cy Young award voting that year even though he has a awesome record of 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA .
The Mets would make the post season that year, but come proved to be ineffective in his first ever playoff start. Cone would give up five runs in two innings taking the loss. He would gain the win in game six, but the Mets would lose in game seven, eliminating them from the playoffs.
Cone spent over five seasons in his first stint with the New York Mets. He and Dwight Gooden were the anchors of that rotation. They were strike out machines in ’90 and ’91.
In 1992, Cone would be the Mets lone player to make that years All Star team. The Mets were in a state of disarray due to bad trades and horrible free agent signings along with many a scandal (including rape accusations – hmm sound familliar ?) Dave would go 9-4 with a ERA of 2.56. He would be dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays for second baseman, Jeff Kent and outfielder Ryan Thompson , and the Mets would finish the season in the cellar.
Dave would be known as a hired gun after his days with the Mets. He was a highly sought after pitcher with electric stuff , and he dominated everywhere he played, including the Royals, Yankees ( where he pitched a no hitter and won championships) and Red Sox.
David was in semi retirement in 2002. In 2003, David attempted a comeback with the Mets – the team that he first found success. He made the team out of Spring Training, but his numbers were horrid. Four Starts into his comeback he would ahve a record of 1-3 with a ERA of 6.50. He promptly retired after his last game, complaining of a chronic hip problem.
Upon his retiring, he accepted a job as a analyst for the YES Network, which is owned by the Yankees.
Tomorrow we will shed some light on the number 28 player on the list, one of the starting pitchers of that formidable ’86 rotation.
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Mets alumni celebrating birthdays today include :
Today would have been Mets third base coach from ’64-’65,Don Heffner’s one hundreth birthday (1911) .
Sadly on theis date in 2003, Mets reserve catcher from the ’83 team, Mike Bishop passed away.
New York Mets signed free agent shortstop, Rey Ordóñez on February 8, 1994. Damn when he took the field he was poetry in mothion. Too bad when he came to the plate he was more like a crude limerick.
New York Mets signed free agent relief pitcher, Rich Rodriguez on February 8, 2000. Rodriguez was hated by the Mets faithful, and when you look at his stats with the Mets you would know why. In 32 games for the Mets that season he would have a record of 0-1 with a ERA of 7.78. Fans were begging the Mets front office to release him. It should have come to no ones surprise that he was once a roommate of then G.M, Steve Phillips ( no wonder he wasn’t released !).
And while you sit at home waiting for pitchers and catchers to report, just remember that there are just 52 Joe Pignatano days until the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami and only 59 more days until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
Mo Vaughn is shopping a book to publishers detailing his seasons as a New York Met. He calls it ” Who’s On First ? – Definitely Not Mo !!”
15 comments
metsfan4decades
2/8/2011-9:12am at 9:12 am (UTC -4)
Lot of off field controversy with Cone while with the Mets. It’s the only reason I can think of that justified that trade. Pitching is always a premium, and it’s not like he was no longer effective.
He wasn’t one of my favorite Mets but he was on my list. He had the unfortunate luck to have pitched for them during a period where they were headed towards some really crappy years. As you said, he went on to have some nice success for several teams so the Mets probably did him a favor.
Ceetar
2/8/2011-9:22am at 9:22 am (UTC -4)
I remember the coneheads when i was little. I miss that zaniness at the ballpark. you really get banners even anymore. I liked Cone.
rustyjr
2/8/2011-9:37am at 9:37 am (UTC -4)
You were young once ?
Ceetar
2/8/2011-10:02am at 10:02 am (UTC -4)
just the once, yes.
hazmet
2/8/2011-8:50pm at 8:50 pm (UTC -4)
If memory serves me correct what did him in was that he was the Union Player Rep and he was very vocal about owners inequity to the players. This was the tipping point that got him out the door. Some camps, including myself thought, the Mets wouldn’t be so stupid as to trade a guy with that much talent just for voicing his opinion as player rep. Guess I was wrong, again.
hazmet
2/8/2011-8:51pm at 8:51 pm (UTC -4)
Forgot: Little did we know at the time that this was just a harbinger of things to come with the 1994 strike.
ajgmets
2/8/2011-10:26am at 10:26 am (UTC -4)
Who can deny the fun the “ConeHeads” brought to Shea stadium during David Cone’s career in a New York Mets Uniform
So what if Coney showed off his “junk” in the bully one afternoon while he was bored to death by the superb pitching of Doc. LOL (Kidding, No offense intended to anyone). I’ll never forget the April 30, 1990 game vs Atlanta when Cone lost his edge and held the ball while still in play and allowed 2 important runs to score for the Braves while arguing a close play at 1B ..http://nyti.ms/hdZvEu All in all Cones accomplishments as a Met and beyond can not be dismissed.. Only 20 MLB hurlers have tossed Perfectos and David’s gem on July 18, 1999 will forever be part of MLB history (even if it was vs the EXPOS) Nice job again Ed.. SNY analyst 2morro?
ajgmets
2/8/2011-10:36am at 10:36 am (UTC -4)
Link to Cone blurb http://nyti.ms/hdZvEu
Prismo
2/8/2011-10:26am at 10:26 am (UTC -4)
I have nothing against the guy, but I can’t overlook his lengthy career as a Yankee. He feels as much Yankee as Met to me.
stickguy
2/8/2011-11:42am at 11:42 am (UTC -4)
well, it would not have been that bad of a deal trading him away if they mets had just held onto Kent and he put up the same production with them.
metsfan4decades
2/8/2011-11:54am at 11:54 am (UTC -4)
Kent…..he was one of those players who either ‘didn’t play well with others’, or couldn’t handle NY. How else to explain the fact that he had all that talent but didn’t remain the Mets 2nd baseman for his career?
ajgmets
2/8/2011-2:30pm at 2:30 pm (UTC -4)
Kent showed some signs of a bright future as a Met, but unfortunately I think the NY experience frustrated him…once he “escaped” he blossomed into what i think will be a Hall of Famer As an aside I always associated Kent with Doug Sisk both appeared to be “mopers” LOl
hazmet
2/8/2011-8:56pm at 8:56 pm (UTC -4)
He also alway’s seemed to be getting hurt too. One year only 107 Games, another year only 125. I think they came to view him as a below average fielding brittle second baseman who could hit when healthy. Hmmm, who does that sound like, cough cough Daniel Murphy. Except Kent proved to have more pop over his career. Let’s see how Danny fares.
Mr North Jersey
2/8/2011-11:58am at 11:58 am (UTC -4)
Next to Gooden Cone was my fav pitcher.
saltygary
2/8/2011-12:06pm at 12:06 pm (UTC -4)
I’m surprised he was this low. Curious to see if el-Sid and Darling make the list and are higher than him. Cone was a beast and a great asset to the team.
It was great to see the cone-heads reappear during his comeback. I believe his one decent game was while in PR against the Expos? Too bad it didn’t last longer it was good to see him back with the blue and orange.