David Wells' perfect game

Last updated
David Wells' perfect game
David Wells on July 16, 2007.jpg
Wells in 2007
123456789 R H E
Minnesota Twins 000000000000
New York Yankees 01010020X460
DateMay 17, 1998
Venue Yankee Stadium
City New York City, New York
Managers
Television MSG Network
TV announcers Jim Kaat (play-by-play)
Ken Singleton (color commentary)
Radio WABC
Radio announcers John Sterling (play-by-play) Michael Kay (color commentary)

On May 17, 1998, David Wells of the New York Yankees pitched the 15th perfect game in Major League Baseball history and the second in team history. Pitching against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx in front of 49,820 fans in attendance, Wells retired all 27 batters he faced. [1] The game took 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete, from 1:36 PM ET to 4:16 PM ET. Wells claimed in a 2001 interview with Bryant Gumbel on HBO's Real Sports that he threw the perfect game while being hung over, calling it a "raging, skull-rattling" hangover. [2] [3] [ failed verification ] Jimmy Fallon claimed in a 2018 interview with Seth Meyers that he and Wells had attended a Saturday Night Live after-party until 5:30 A.M. the morning of the game. [4] In an interview, Wells also mentioned having partied with Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers the night before. [5] However, there was no new episode of Saturday Night Live the previous night, as the season finale had aired the week prior; [6] [ circular reference ] additionally, Fallon wouldn't join the cast of Saturday Night Live until that fall while Meyers wouldn't join until 2001.

Contents

Wells' perfect game was the 245th no-hitter in MLB history and the tenth no-hitter in Yankees history. It was the first regular-season perfect game pitched by a Yankee; the franchise's previous perfect game was thrown by Don Larsen during the 1956 World Series. By coincidence, Wells graduated from the same high school as Larsen - Point Loma High School in San Diego, California. [7] The previous perfect game in MLB history was nearly four years prior, when Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a perfect game against the California Angels at The Ballpark In Arlington on July 28, 1994.

Wells' perfect game was the first Yankee no-hitter since Dwight Gooden's against the Seattle Mariners in May 1996. Wells' performance tied the record for franchises with most perfect games. At the time, the Cleveland Indians were the only other team to have two perfect games; David Cone added a third perfect game to Yankees history, breaking the record in July 1999.

Three months later, on September 1, Wells took a perfect game into the seventh inning in a game against the Oakland Athletics, but he gave up a two-out single to Jason Giambi to end his bid for an unprecedented second perfect game. Wells ended up with a two-hit shutout as the Yankees won the game, 7-0. [8]

Game statistics

May 17, Yankee Stadium, New York, New York [9]
Team123456789 R H E
Minnesota Twins (18–24)000000000000
New York Yankees (28–9)01010020X460
WP: David Wells (5–1)   LP: LaTroy Hawkins (2–4)
Home runs:
MIN: None
NYY: Bernie Williams (3)

Box score

Other info

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Wells</span> American baseball player (born 1963)

David Lee Wells is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered one of the league's top left-handed pitchers during his career and made three All-Star appearances. In 1998, he pitched the 15th perfect game in baseball history. Wells also appeared in the postseason as a member of six teams, tied for the most with Kenny Lofton, and won two World Series titles. Following his 2007 retirement, Wells served as a broadcaster for MLB on TBS and was the host of The Cheap Seats on FOXSports.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cone</span> American baseball player and analyst (born 1963)

David Brian Cone is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and Amazon Prime as well as for ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball. A third round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1981 MLB draft, he made his MLB debut in 1986 and continued playing until 2003, pitching for five different teams. Cone batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Larsen</span> American baseball player (1929–2020)

Don James Larsen was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees (1955–1959), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago White Sox (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962–1964), Houston Colt .45's / Astros (1964–65), and Chicago Cubs (1967).

The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees of the American League and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League in October 1956. The series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series. It was the final Subway Series in the Fall Classic until 44 years later in 2000, as the Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to California following the 1957 season. Additionally, it was the last time a New York City team represented the National League in a World Series until 1969, when the New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in five games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Hawkins</span> American baseball player & coach (born 1960)

Melton Andrew Hawkins is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. Hawkins spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the San Diego Padres, and also played for the New York Yankees and briefly for the Oakland Athletics. He is currently the assistant pitching coach of the Salt Lake Bees.

Like many Twins teams of its half-decade, the 1998 Minnesota Twins neither impressed nor contended. The team finished with a 70–92 record, with subpar batting and pitching. The season was not without its bright spots, as individual players had solid seasons and Hall of Fame designated hitter Paul Molitor announced his retirement at the end of the season. Tom Kelly's team had plenty of lowlights, most notably David Wells' perfect game against the team on May 17 at Yankee Stadium.

The 1999 Major League Baseball season ended with the New York Yankees sweeping the Atlanta Braves in the World Series.

The 1956 New York Yankees season was the 54th season for the team. The team finished with a record of 97–57, winning their 22nd pennant, finishing nine games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. New York was managed by Casey Stengel. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Series featured the first no-hitter in Series play and only World Series perfect game, delivered by the Yankees' Don Larsen in Game 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Brooklyn Dodgers season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers edged out the Milwaukee Braves to win the National League title. The Dodgers again faced the New York Yankees in the World Series. This time they lost the series in seven games, one of which was a perfect game by the Yankees' Don Larsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Detroit Tigers season</span> Major League Baseball season

The 1976 Detroit Tigers season was the 76th season for the Detroit Tigers competing in Major League Baseball as a member of the American League. In their third season under manager Ralph Houk, the Tigers compiled a 74–87 record and finished in fifth place in the American League East, 24 games behind the New York Yankees. The team improved by 17 wins over its 1975 performance for the largest improvement by any team in the American League. The team played its home games at Tiger Stadium and attracted 1,467,020 fans, ranking fourth of the 12 teams in the American League.

The 1990 Major League Baseball season saw the Cincinnati Reds upset the heavily favored Oakland Athletics in the World Series, for their first title since 1976.

Larry Floyd Stahl is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1973 for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cone's perfect game</span> 1999 Major League Baseball game

On July 18, 1999, David Cone of the New York Yankees pitched the 16th perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) history and the third in team history, and the first no-hit game in regular season interleague play. Cone pitched it against the Montreal Expos at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, with 41,930 fans in attendance. The game took 2 hours and 49 minutes, from 2:05 PM ET to 4:54 PM ET. The game was interrupted by a 33-minute rain delay in the bottom of the third inning in the middle of an at-bat for Tino Martinez. As part of the day's "Yogi Berra Day" festivities honoring the Yankees' former catcher, before the game, former Yankees pitcher Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Berra; the two comprised the battery for Larsen's perfect game in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Larsen's perfect game</span> Perfect game pitched in the 1956 World Series

On October 8, 1956, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, pitcher Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. It was the only no-hitter in World Series history until the Houston Astros pitching staff of Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly threw a combined no-hitter in the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. It remains the only perfect game in the history of the World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Humber's perfect game</span>

Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners by retiring all 27 batters he faced on April 21, 2012, as the White Sox defeated the Mariners 4–0. It was the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) history and the third by a member of the White Sox, and remains the earliest calendar date for a perfect game in MLB history. It was Humber's first career complete game, although he had come close to achieving no-hitters on several occasions at several levels of organized baseball. The game was played in Seattle and broadcast regionally by Fox Sports in the two teams' metropolitan areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Bunning's perfect game</span>

On June 21, 1964, Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched the seventh perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the New York Mets 6–0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium. A father of seven children at the time, Bunning pitched his perfect game on Father's Day. One of Bunning's daughters, Barbara, was in attendance, as was his wife, Mary.

References

  1. Jaffe, Jay (May 17, 2013). "15 years ago today: David Wells' perfect game". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  2. Susan Slusser (May 7, 2020). "Dallas Braden comes clean: A's starter was hung over for 2010 perfect game". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  3. Mushnick, Phil (June 24, 2001). "Now Appearing on HBO Real Sports Real Smut". New York Post . Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  4. Fallon, Jimmy; Meyers, Seth (April 26, 2018). Jimmy Fallon Reminisces on Pitching an SNL Sketch to Mick Jagger (YouTube). New York City: Late Night with Seth Meyers.
  5. YESNetwork, David Wells remembers the night before his Perfect Game , retrieved 2019-01-22
  6. List of Saturday Night Live episodes (seasons 1–30)#Season 23 (1997–98)
  7. "David Wells Field in Point Loma gets renovated". ABC 10 News. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  8. "Oakland Athletics versus New York Yankees". Baseball-Reference.com. September 1, 1998. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  9. "Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees Box Score, May 17, 1998".