YANKEES STADIUM, THE BRONX, NEW YORK -- David Wells, always a histrionic gent whose mood swings reflect the path of his famed sweeping curve ball, hit the emotional rocks in early May 1998. His warm friendship with George Steinbrenner already cooled by a shouting match the previous summer, he felt like a useless accessory on the Yankees juggernaut.
Starters: LaTroy Hawkins vs. David Wells
WP: David Wells LP: LaTroy Hawkins
HR: NYY: Bernie Williams
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He had been given a 9-0 lead against Texas, yet failed to survive the third inning, falling well short of qualifying for the victory. He openly contemplated retirement, not an irrational thought for someone two weeks shy of his 35th birthday.
But he didn't, of course, and on May 17 dragged his 5.23 ERA out to the Yankee Stadium mound to face the Minnesota Twins. He certainly started off stronger than on that depressing day against the Rangers, locking up with young right-hander LaTroy Hawkins in a taut duel.
Pressured mostly by Bernie Williams, Hawkins cracked first, ever so slightly. But as he worked through the middle innings, Wells still only had a 2-0 lead to protect.
Gradually, as awareness of impending history wafted across the stands like the aroma of steamed hot dogs, the pressures of a close game gave way to the stress of an individual pursuit. Through six innings, 18 Twins had gone up against Wells and as many had returned to their dugout.
In honor of the timeless baseball tradition, Wells began to be quarantined in his own dugout. No one wanted to sit close enough to him to be engaged in a conversation that somehow might turn to perfection.
Denied companionship isn't something that goes down well with the gabby Wells. So, after again retiring the side in order in the top of the seventh, he sought out David Cone, a kindred spirit who could always be counted on for some irreverence. Sure enough, as they sat on the bench while the Yankees got busy doubling the lead to 4-0, Cone advised Wells it might be time "to break out the knuckleball."
As Wells approached the dugout following another one-two-three eighth, Cone was waiting for him on the top step with an admonishment: "You showed me nothing out there, you wimp."
All of Bronx fidgeted through the suddenly unbearable nuisance of the Yankees batting, then it was time for Wells to return to the mound and meet his destiny. The crowd of 49,820 was going nuts, and that was making Wells crazy.
"I kinda wanted them to calm down because they were making me nervous," Wells later recalled. "By the end, I could barely grip the ball, my hand was shaking so much."
You will find no proof of that in game footage. Jon Shave led off the ninth with a soft fly ball to right. Javier Valentin went down as strikeout No. 11. Wells' 120th pitch was a fastball to Pat Meares, who lifted it innocently to right.
Even before the ball settled into Paul O'Neill's glove, Wells had crumbled to his knees, overcome by the sensations of having notched only the 15th perfect game in baseball's long history.
One interesting, often-overlooked footnote: The perfect game, combined with his previous outing, had given Wells a stretch of 37 batters retired. He began his next start, on May 22 in Fenway Park, by retiring leadoff batter Darren Lewis. But Darren Bragg followed with a bloop single to shallow left, ending Wells' streak at 38, still three shy of the Major League record set by the Giants' Jim Barr in 1972.
Copyright 1998 by the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball
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David Cone