Monday, September 11, 2006
CONEHEAD
By Tweed
Stockton and I agree on many things. One of those things is baseball. We agree baseball is a game. We also agree that baseball books are hit or miss. I've just finished "A Pitcher's Story: Innings with David Cone" by Roger Angell and, pardon the irony, but, it's definitely a hit.
Roger Angell followed David Cone through the 2000 season with the World Series winning New York Yankees, and had access to Cone, his teammates and former teammates. Originally conceived as a book about an aging master continuing to figure out how to win as age works its undeniable effects on a pitching arm, Cone's uncharacteristic 4-14 season turned the book into something better. The trials and tribulations of Cone's 2000 season are used as a backdrop to a review of Cone's remarkable career.
David Cone is an interesting figure. While Cone does not rank with the truly great pitchers of his era - Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux, notably - he was very good for many years and had a few tremendous years. Cone is a Cy Young award winner and a Hutch award winner for his determination and grit. Cone was a strikeout pitcher, usually on the leader-board in this category and had numerous high strikeout games (including 19 against the Phillies with the threat of arrest hanging over his head - but more on that later). Cone was a big-game pitcher, winning many crucial games (game 3 of the 1996 world series is my favorite (sorry Steve)) and pitched the elusive perfect game (with Don Larsen and Yogi Berra watching) at Yankee Stadium.
A fierce competitor, and, by most accounts, a leader and valued teammate, Cone suffered, as most pitchers do, from a myriad of injuries. Unlike many baseball players, Cone was able to survive, and even thrive, in the tough New York market, as both a member of the Mets and the Yankees. A fierce competitor who thrived under pressure, Cone, like many pitchers, hated being pulled from games. There is a particularly good passage regarding this:
It's game 3 of the 1996 World Series; the Yankees have lost the first two games to the Atlanta Braves. They are in Atlanta, and must win the game to avoid an unthinkable 0 -3 deficit in the series. Cone starts game 3:
Of course, Cone went on to win the game, and the Yankees came back to win the series 4 -2.
But unlike some players, concerned only with their own individual statistics, Cone worked for the team to win games - which is how he dislocated his shoulder.
Away from baseball, Cone's career was, shall we say, controversial. Cone came up with the Royals but was traded to the Mets early in his career - one of those "I can't believe I traded him for this schmuck" deals. With the Mets, Cone pitched tremendously, but also made page 6 more frequently than Paris Hilton's thong. Not that Cone was the ringleader of that wild bunch - but he certainly didn't back away from the challenges of stardom and groupies. These adventures included charges of inappropriate behavior including an accusation of rape - a charge not followed-up by the police because of inconsistencies in the complainant's story.
But Cone was also one of the player association representatives during the strike and, by all accounts, was a masterful advocate. He is also viewed by his colleagues as a leader, and a player willing to make the extra effort to make life easier for his teammates.
And Angell brings all this out - Cone, warts and all, as he struggles to figure out his 2000 season.
I've not always been a David Cone fan - I was never a Mets fan, and never appreciative of the lack of self-control of those guys. But Cone grew on me as his career lengthened. Cone came to the park everyday to play, and to play to win. I watched him return from injury (his masterful come-back after his anneurysm surgery was stunning) and sat on the edge of my seat as he achieved perfection.
This is a remarkably well-written book, and provides a glimpse into the life of a pitcher. If you have an interest in what it is to be a major league ball player, this is a good book to read.
Stockton and I agree on many things. One of those things is baseball. We agree baseball is a game. We also agree that baseball books are hit or miss. I've just finished "A Pitcher's Story: Innings with David Cone" by Roger Angell and, pardon the irony, but, it's definitely a hit.
Roger Angell followed David Cone through the 2000 season with the World Series winning New York Yankees, and had access to Cone, his teammates and former teammates. Originally conceived as a book about an aging master continuing to figure out how to win as age works its undeniable effects on a pitching arm, Cone's uncharacteristic 4-14 season turned the book into something better. The trials and tribulations of Cone's 2000 season are used as a backdrop to a review of Cone's remarkable career.
David Cone is an interesting figure. While Cone does not rank with the truly great pitchers of his era - Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux, notably - he was very good for many years and had a few tremendous years. Cone is a Cy Young award winner and a Hutch award winner for his determination and grit. Cone was a strikeout pitcher, usually on the leader-board in this category and had numerous high strikeout games (including 19 against the Phillies with the threat of arrest hanging over his head - but more on that later). Cone was a big-game pitcher, winning many crucial games (game 3 of the 1996 world series is my favorite (sorry Steve)) and pitched the elusive perfect game (with Don Larsen and Yogi Berra watching) at Yankee Stadium.
A fierce competitor, and, by most accounts, a leader and valued teammate, Cone suffered, as most pitchers do, from a myriad of injuries. Unlike many baseball players, Cone was able to survive, and even thrive, in the tough New York market, as both a member of the Mets and the Yankees. A fierce competitor who thrived under pressure, Cone, like many pitchers, hated being pulled from games. There is a particularly good passage regarding this:
It's game 3 of the 1996 World Series; the Yankees have lost the first two games to the Atlanta Braves. They are in Atlanta, and must win the game to avoid an unthinkable 0 -3 deficit in the series. Cone starts game 3:
"Cone, with eleven days' rest, established himself early in the game. . . .
Leading the Braves' Tom Glavine by 2-0 in the sixth, he gave up a walk and a
bloop, and, with one out, walked Chipper Jones, to load the bases. This produced
Joe Torre from the dugout, and a mound conference that has become embronzed in
Yankee memory, like a war memorial. Seizing his pitcher by the hips, Torre pulls
David close, inches away from his stare, and says, "This is important. You've got to tell me the truth." . . . . "I'm all right," Cone says, a little startled. "I'm fine. I can get these guys, believe me."
Candor and resolution flow out of him. Who wouldn't go with a guy like this? Torre nods at last, touches his shoulder, and retires. "I trusted David Cone," he says later. "He's the toughest player to read I've ever had because he always expects to do
well."
"I lied," Cone says. "I had to make him believe my lie."
Of course, Cone went on to win the game, and the Yankees came back to win the series 4 -2.
But unlike some players, concerned only with their own individual statistics, Cone worked for the team to win games - which is how he dislocated his shoulder.
Away from baseball, Cone's career was, shall we say, controversial. Cone came up with the Royals but was traded to the Mets early in his career - one of those "I can't believe I traded him for this schmuck" deals. With the Mets, Cone pitched tremendously, but also made page 6 more frequently than Paris Hilton's thong. Not that Cone was the ringleader of that wild bunch - but he certainly didn't back away from the challenges of stardom and groupies. These adventures included charges of inappropriate behavior including an accusation of rape - a charge not followed-up by the police because of inconsistencies in the complainant's story.
But Cone was also one of the player association representatives during the strike and, by all accounts, was a masterful advocate. He is also viewed by his colleagues as a leader, and a player willing to make the extra effort to make life easier for his teammates.
And Angell brings all this out - Cone, warts and all, as he struggles to figure out his 2000 season.
I've not always been a David Cone fan - I was never a Mets fan, and never appreciative of the lack of self-control of those guys. But Cone grew on me as his career lengthened. Cone came to the park everyday to play, and to play to win. I watched him return from injury (his masterful come-back after his anneurysm surgery was stunning) and sat on the edge of my seat as he achieved perfection.
This is a remarkably well-written book, and provides a glimpse into the life of a pitcher. If you have an interest in what it is to be a major league ball player, this is a good book to read.
