David Cone, a right-hander, was regarded as one of the top strikeout pitchers in the majors during the late 1980s and early 1990s and won the American League Cy Young Award in 1994 with the Kansas City Royals.

David was drafted by the Royals in the 3rd round of the 1981 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on June 8, 1986. Prior to the 1987 season, however, he was traded with Chris Jelic to the New York Mets for Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson and Mauro Gazzo. The following season, David split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation and enjoyed marginal success, going 5-6.

Cone's first exceptional year came in 1988 when he went 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA, leading the Mets to the postseason, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers (despite the fact that the Mets came in as heavy favorites) and the man who won the Cy Young over Cone, Orel Hershiser. Over the next dozen years, Cone became accustomed to leading teams to the postseason and became known as a "big game" pitcher.

It was this reputation which led to Cone's becoming a popular trade commodity during deadline deals as his pitching down the stretch was highly sought by contending teams. He was twice a part of midyear deals, being shipped from a losing team to a contending team in 1992 and 1995. Cone compiled an 8-3 postseason record over 21 postseason starts and was a part of five World Series championship teams (1992 with the Toronto Blue Jays and 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 with the New York Yankees). He had a career postseason ERA of 3.80.

In addition to the 1988 campaign, Cone also enjoyed a 20-win season in 1998, setting a Major League record for the longest span between 20-win season. He led the National League in strikeouts in 1990 and 1991, but his 261 strikeouts in 1992, split between the two leagues, were a personal best. He won the American League Cy Young Award in the strike-shortened 1994 season, going 16-5 with a 2.94 ERA.

Cone was diagnosed with an aneurysm in his arm in 1996 and was on the disabled list for the majority of the year. In his comeback start that September against the Oakland Athletics, Cone pitched a no-hitter through seven innings before he had to leave due to pitch count restrictions. Mariano Rivera allowed a single which broke the no-hitter up.

Cone's performance faded dramatically in his final years. After pitching a perfect game on July 18, 1999, against the Montreal Expos, he seemed to suddenly lose effectiveness, and in 2000 he posted the worst record of his career, 4-14, while seeing his ERA balloon to 6.91, more than double his mark the previous year. In spite of his ineffectiveness, Cone was brought in during Game 4 of the 2000 World Series to face the Mets' Mike Piazza, a controversial decision at the time -- Denny Neagle had given up a home run to Piazza in his previous at-bat, but was pitching with a lead and only needed to retire Piazza to go the minimum five innings to be eligible for a win. Cone induced a pop-up to end the inning.

Cone pitched for the rival Boston Red Sox in 2001. He sat out the 2002 season, but attempted a comeback in 2003 . Pitching again for the New York Mets, the results were no better - he went 1-3 in 4 starts with a 6.50 ERA. He announced his retirement soon after his last appearance for the Mets on May 28, citing a chronic hip problem.