Happy birthday to a pitcher who was definitely better than you remember, David Cone.
Happy birthday David Cone
The former Blue Jays pitcher turns 62 today.
While only a Blue Jay for a short while, first in the 2nd half of 1992 and then again in 1995, David Cone made his mark on franchise lore by being a key contributor in their successful 1992 World Series Championship.
But outside of the Blue Jays world, David Cone is probably a much better pitcher then you remember.
On the surface, his career record of 194-126, may not be that impressive, especially given in the era that he pitched in, but it is still very, very good.
Did you know that Cone's career WAR is 62.3? That puts him in between Andy Pettitte and Roy Halladay and matches to the decimal exactly CC Sabathia, a likely first ballot Hall of Famer.
And while Cone has 57 less wins and 400 less strikeouts than C.C., his ERA is .28 points lower and their WHIP is virtually the same. Cone also played in roughly 100 less games.
Cone was a five time All-Star; CC Sabathia had six appearances in the midsummer's classic.
Now, I'm not necessarily advocating for David Cone to be elected into Cooperstown, but if he were on the ballot today, he would certainly get more of a look.
And while Cone will be certainly be remember more for his time with the Mets and then the Yankees - where he threw the 16th perfect game in MLB history - older Blue Jays fans will surely Cone's help in defeating the Oakland A's and then Atlanta on route to the first World Series Championship won by a Canadian team. He also led the league in strike outs that year.
Happy birthday David Cone! A player who was definitely better than we remember
