MLB WORLD SERIES: PADRES v YANKEES

October 19, 1998

David Cone

DAVID CONE: I always thought Sterling had great stuff, he pitched great games in '95, when we won the Wild Card with the Yankees. And I thought he would evolve into a great pitcher for the Yankees. But he got caught up in the Yankee thing and traded around, and he's landed here in San Diego. He's always had the arm, he's always had the stuff, so this doesn't surprise me how well he's pitching.

DAVID CONE: Obviously I flew in early, and I did get a chance to watch the game. I was very impressed with El Duque. I was happy he got a chance to pitch in Yankee Stadium, and really come through. He deserved it after everything he's been through. I thought he pitched a dynamite game.

DAVID CONE: I'm hoping, definitely. A couple of extra days will probably help me even more. It's been a long grind for me, I had the second straight shoulder surgery in the off-season, I've been throwing off the mound since mid-December. This is the time of year where pitchers tend to break down a little bit and get fatigued. I'm sure that pitchers on both sides of the field right now are feeling a little bit of this, with the extra round of playoffs.

DAVID CONE: Well, they were ugly, there's no way around it. It was an embarrassing situation where I was searching for respectability. Obviously I thought to myself, this can't go on. I can't go out there and embarrass myself, hurt the team. There were a lot of jokes in the year about me being the weakling, and the fifth starter. I wanted to not hurt the team. I wanted to do something to contribute. I was able to win 20 games now, and it's been one of the most gratifying years of my career in that regard.

DAVID CONE: Well, I just think we've had an uncanny knack all year, when we need to pitch well, when we win to 1-0 or 2-1, we get great pitching performances. And when we need to score runs, it seems like we're able to matchup and do that. Is that character, integrity? It's a team that really picks each other up and pulls for each other. And it sounds like a little bit of clicheism. It's really true, we pick each other up. We sense when the starter is struggling, that we score runs. And vice-versa, if the other pitcher does well, and we need to hold them down and as a pitching staff, we do that, as well.

DAVID CONE: Well, when I came in '95 we made a heck of a run to get the Wild Card and were seven games under .500, and had a great stretch in September. The next year everything turned over. When we lost that series in Seattle, it was devastating. It was the most devastated clubhouse. Buck Showalter lost his job, I think when we brought Tino Martinez in, that was a turning point for the organization, because those are huge shoes to fill, in Don Mattingly. And Stottlemyre has done a great job with the pitching staff. And the evolution of Paul O'Neill as a leader, the respect he's gotten year in and year out, he's become one of the great Yankees of all time. And Bernie's evolution. And Derek Jeter, his opening game in '96 against Cleveland where he makes a home run and the over-the-shoulder catch, and we had doubts over whether a rookie shortstop would be able to make it. There's been a combination of factors, and we're in the midst of a good run. And three or four years now we've been playing very well.

DAVID CONE: Well, I said before, I didn't even know what the word aneurysm was, I didn't know how to spell it, when I heard it on the table, and I thought it was life threatening, and baseball was the last thing from my mind. And I found out it was fixable, it was correctable, and I'd have a chance to pitch again. That's all I thought about. I didn't want to end my career like that, I didn't want to have it taken away from me. I wanted to come back and try to pitch again, and at least go out on my own terms. And low and behold, I had another shoulder surgery last year. It's been a long year for me this year, I've been throwing since December off the mound. And I'm looking forward to closing this thing out, and getting a nice rest in the off-season.

Padres last night?

DAVID CONE: Well, I hope so. I thought he was outstanding. I think he did a better job of establishing his fastball than my previous start against Cleveland. But I think he threw more fastballs than they thought he was going to. He moved it in and out and hit the spots very well. There's no secret, if you can spot your fastball that well, that makes all your other pitches that much more effective.

DAVID CONE: Well, it makes me feel extremely confident. That's the ultimate praise that a pitcher can get from a manager is the trust factor. And I kind of felt like I let him down the other night when I gave up the grand slam to Thome. I've been able to pitch my way into jams and pitch my way out of it, but it caught up with me the other day. I hope that trust factor is still there tomorrow night. But that is the ultimate compliment any player can get from a manager.

DAVID CONE: Yes, I do. I think I remember every pitch. And he's the type of hitter where you do remember those type of sequences. But I threw him a splitter that was a good pitch and he reached out and hooked for a double down the right line. He's that type of pitcher, there is no one way to pitch him. You off speed, you curve him, and he's on everything. So you just try to mix it up and hope he hits it at somebody sometimes.

DAVID CONE: Yeah, it does. It brings me back to my National League days. I really enjoyed the National League style of play when I played for the Mets. But I've become more pro-DH, as well, in the American League. From a pitching standpoint it's nice if you can get a bunt down or get a hit and do something to help your team and help your cause when you're pitching, it's great.

DAVID CONE: I think by and large you would expect the National League staff to have the advantage, in this ballpark it should be an advantage. We haven't taken much batting practice all year, we're not very good at handling the bats. Anything we can do, get down a bunt or not hurt our chances is going to be a plus for us. I'm sure a few of those guys might be thinking a little bigger, they might be getting some hits or handle the bat better than we do.

DAVID CONE: I think that's incorrect. I think the media guide is wrong. Actually the last time I pitched here was my last game with the Mets in '92, before I got traded to the Blue Jays, and eventually to the World Series in '92. So it was a long flight back that night, and Frank Cashen said stay by the phone the next day, and lo and behold I was traded to the Blue Jays.

DAVID CONE: Obviously the top two batters in the order, Gwynn is going to get his hits. You hope that he's not in a position to do some hit and run type situations with Veras on and running. They can do things in the top of the order that set up the chances or the opportunity for Vaughn and some of the big boppers, Caminiti in the middle of the line-up. Veras worries you and Gwynn worries you. It's a tough chance.

DAVID CONE: Well, El Duque is such an amazing story. We were all eager to meet him and hear his story. He fit right in, immediately, almost the first day of practice. He was out there running around and knocking down batted balls at him, and we were practicing, and he was just into it. He had a hunger and joy for the game that I think was infectious on the rest of our team. And Boomer is Boomer. Boomer is the type of guy where you want to make him feel welcome. You want to make him feel part of the team. You want to make him feel like he's a big part of the team and we're counting on him. At night you try to keep him out of jail (laughter.)