Yankee's pitcher David Cone threw perfect game 20 years ago today

New York Yankees pitcher David Cone.

One sure sign that high school football season is right around the corner is that, behind the scenes, the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) is preparing to put out its preseason football poll.

Voting in the poll will begin this coming Monday with voting to close the following Monday. Votes will be counted in the days to follow with the official poll to be released online at 11 p.m. on Aug. 4. The poll will be released in print media on Mon., Aug. 5.

Aug. 5 will also mark the first official day of practice for Alabama High School Athletic Association teams. Alabama Independent School Association teams will kick off practice on Thurs., Aug. 1.

----- 0 -----

I was talking with local youth football coach Robert Caldwell on Monday and he said that the local youth football league is in dire need of some new equipment. Caldwell said he plans to discuss this with local officials and business owners in hopes of securing some new equipment for the league. He noted that player safety is a huge issue nowadays, so if you have the ability to help Caldwell and the league in this area, please do so.

----- 0 -----

Also this week, big congratulations to Tyler Lowery, who will represent Hillcrest in the North-South All-Star Football Game tonight (Thursday) in Montgomery. This all-star game has a long tradition and many great players have played in this game over the years. Evergreen High School sent a number of players to this game in years past, but I’m not exactly sure just how many. That would be an interesting thing to research someday, but until then it’s nice seeing a Hillcrest player on the field.

----- 0 -----

I was looking through my notes the other day and saw where it’s been 20 years since New York Yankee David Cone pitched the 16^th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. Cone’s perfect game was a no-hit, no-walk victory over the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999 at Yankee Stadium.

Cone’s perfect game was remarkable for a number of reasons. It was the third perfect game in Yankee history and was also marked the first time that a no-hitter had been thrown during a regular season inter-league game. Interestingly, the game was interrupted by a 33-minute rain delay.

By definition, a perfect game has to go at least nine innings and no opposing player can reach base in any form or fashion. In other words, it’s “27 up, 27 down.” Since Cone’s perfect game in 1999, seven others have been thrown by Randy Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Philip Humber, Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez.

I’ve always wanted to be in the seats to see a Major League no-hitter or perfect game, but I know that my chances are pretty slim. One stat that I saw said that in the 144-year history of Major League Baseball, there have been over 218,000 games played. Of that number, there have only been 23 perfect games and 301 no-hitters. You’re probably more likely to be struck by lightning or win the lottery than luck up and see a Major League perfect game.