May 17, 1998: David Wells' Perfect Game

May 17, 1998: I was at my grandmother's house. And, like the man who made me a fan of the New York Yankees, my grandfather from The Bronx, did so many times, I took a nap on her couch. When I woke up, I turned on the Yankee game, and saw that David Wells had a perfect game going after 7 innings.

I'm glad I wasn't watching it the whole way: I would've been more nervous than he was. Come to think of it, I didn't find out that David Cone had a perfect game the next year until 8 innings were done, because I was watching a minor-league game live. Grandma was a Dodger fan from Queens, so it was a mixed marriage. When they moved, she bided her time until the Mets came.

Much as Dock Ellis claimed to be high on LSD when he pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970, Wells -- a hard-partying southpaw who fit the "hefty lefty" and "portly portsider" tags -- claimed to be hungover when he pitched this game. If that wasn't bizarre enough, the Yankees got their 1st run in bizarre fashion: Bernie Williams doubled, advanced to 3rd on a passed ball, and scored on a wild pitch by the Twins' LaTroy Hawkins.

Williams hit a home run in the 4th inning. In the 7th, Williams doubled, Darryl Strawberry drove him in with w a triple, and Chad Curtis singled Strawberry home, giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead.

In the 9th inning, Wells got Jon Shave to pop up to Paul O'Neill in right field. He struck Javier Valentin out, his 11th strikeout of the day. And, on his 120th and last pitch, he got Pat Meares to fly to O'Neill.

It was not just a no-hitter: It was a perfect game, the 2nd in Yankee history. The 1st was pitched by Don Larsen, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Someone discovered that Larsen and Wells were graduates of the same high school, Point Loma in San Diego. A phone call between them was set up, and they met in person on Old-Timers Day.

(Other notable Point Loma graduates: Football players Eric Allen, JJ Stokes and La"Roi Glover; swimmer Florence Chadwick; America's Cup winner Dennis Conner; and actresses Marion Ross and Margaret Avery.)

Wells went 17-4 for the Yankees in 1998, and was the winning pitcher in the key Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, beating the Cleveland Indians away. He also won Game 1 of the World Series, against the team he grew up rooting for, the San Diego Padres. He was set to start Game 5 in his hometown, but the Yankees swept the Series in 4 straight. He published a memoir, titled Perfect I'm Not, emphasizing his hard-partying ways.

Before the next season started, the Yankees traded Wells and infielder Homer Bush to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens. So he was not at Yankee Stadium on July 18, 1999, when David Cone pitched a perfect game, with Larsen in attendance. In 2002, the Yankees brought him back, and in 2003, he helped them win another Pennant.

Wells finished his career with a record of 239-157, having reached the postseason with 7 different teams: The Toronto Blue Jays in 1987, '91 and '92; the Cincinnati Reds in 1995; the Baltimore Orioles in 1996; the Yankees in 1997, '98, 2002 and '03; the Boston Red Sox in 2005; his hometown Padres in 2006; and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2007. He won the World Series in 1992 and 1998.

In 2008, Wells was invited back to Yankee Stadium for the last game there. In the pregame ceremony, all 3 perfect game pitchers posed for a photo on the mound, with the catchers of their perfectos: Larsen and Yogi Berra, Wells and Jorge Posada, and Cone and Joe Girardi.

One more bizarre note: When O'Neill retired after the 2001 season, LaTroy Hawkins, the Twins' starter in this game became the next Yankee to wear Number 21. The fans booed like crazy, but it wasn't directed at Hawkins for wearing the number of the beloved "Warrior." It was directed at Yankee management, for giving Hawkins that number. Hawkins asked for a different number the next night, and got 22. No Yankee has ever worn 21 again, and it was formally retired for O'Neill in 2022. Wells' Number 33 remains in circulation for the Yankees.

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May 17, 1998 was a Sunday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 4-2 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Glenallen Hill hit 2 home runs. Alex Rodriguez hit 1. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-5.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 1-0 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Aaron Sele pitched 5-hit shutout ball for 8 innings, and John Wetteland pitched a perfect 9th.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-1 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Sammy Sosa went 3-for-5, but did not hit a home run.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Anaheim Angels, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-7 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Rickey Henderson went 3-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 13-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 8-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. All 8 runs were allowed by John Smoltz, who only lasted 4 innings.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn only appeared as a pinch-hitter, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Football was out of season. There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

And there was 1 game played in the NBA Playoffs: The Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers, 85-79 at the United Center in Chicago. Michael Jordan scored 31.