One-Year Wonder Pt. 23: David Cone

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

David Cone was one of those rare players that left the Yankees to join the Red Sox.  Of course, he was well past his prime when he did so, at 38 years of age and coming off of a season in which he was 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA.  Cone had previously been one of the top pitchers in the game, back when he was with the Mets, Royals, and Yankees.  He was a two-time 20 game winner and lead the league in strikeouts two years in a row while with the Mets.  He won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award while with the Royals in 1994, and he was an All Star five times.  He also threw a perfect game while with the Yankees.

But, as previously mentioned, Cone was 38 years old when he signed as a free agent with the Red Sox and coming off of the worst season of his career.  All that is not to mention the fact that he was hurt and would not make his debut in 2001 until mid-May.  But Dan Duquette loved reclamation projects, especially pitchers.  He had previously signed Tim Wakefield and Bret Saberhagen, who worked out, and Ramon Martinez and Steve Avery, who didn't, on the cheap.  He was looking to add David Cone to that list.

Unfortunately, this was one much more like Ramon Martinez than Bret Saberhagen.  Boston was pretty desperate for pitching help, especially after Pedro Martinez went down with an injury, leaving the rotation in the somewhat shaky hands of Hideo Nomo and Frank Castillo.  Cone went 9-7 with a 4.31 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 135.2 innings.  It was not a terrible season for Cone, but it certainly was not what the front office had in mind when bringing Cone in.  

Cone only lasted the one season in Boston.  He did not play in 2002 due to injuries.  He returned in 2003 for four games early in the season back with the Mets before retiring for good due to an ongoing hip problem.  

Feature: From Yankees to Red Sox

The Yankees and Red Sox have been in competition for players for a long time. Even when there is a player that one team does not want, they tend to make things difficult for the other team to get him. Recent examples include Carl Crawford, Cliff Lee, and others. The teams have also often signed players away from the other team. The Yankees have had a bit more success than the Red Sox in this regard, taking Johnny Damon and Wade Boggs away from the Red Sox in the last twenty years. Some Yankees players have left that team to join the Red Sox, and here are some of the most recent such players:

MIKE TORREZ
Mike Torrez was a Yankee for part of one season, in 1977. He was part of the purge of the Oakland Athletics and was traded to the Yankees for Dock Ellis and a couple of other players. Torrez turned in a fine season, going 14-12 with a 3.82 ERA and 90 strikeouts. After the season, Torrez signed a free agent contract with the Red Sox and spent five seasons for them. His first two seasons were his best as he won 16 games in each of them. Unfortunately, injuries took their toll. Torrez delivered the pitch that Bucky Dent hit over the Green Monster to take the one game playoff in 1978.

DON BAYLOR
Prior to the 1986 season, the Red Sox and Yankees traded designated hitters with the Red Sox sending Mike Easler to New York for Don Baylor. Baylor was pretty good in 86 as he hit .238/.344/.439/.783. Baylor crushed 31 home runs and drove in 94 runs. He was also wildly popular in the clubhouse. Easler put up a better slash line, but less than half as many home runs and fewer RBIs.

RICK CERONE
Rick Cerone joined the Red Sox as a backup catcher after his second stint with the Yankees. Cerone had not been a valuable starter in several years, but he spent most of his two years with the Red Sox as a starter since incumbent Rich Gedman was suffering through injuries. Cerone hit .255/.323/.352/.675 with the Red Sox. Cerone later returned to the Yankees for a third time in 1990.

MIKE STANLEY
Mike Stanley won a Silver Slugger for the Yankees in 1993 after hitting 26 home runs and was an All Star in 1995. In 1996, Stanley joined the Red Sox and had a great year as the Red Sox catcher. He hit .270/.383/.506/.889 with 24 home runs. In 1997, Stanley also played first base and designated hitter and was again putting up big numbers. He was traded back to the Yankees late in the season for Jim Mecir and Tony Armas, Jr., who was later packaged to the Expos for Pedro Martinez. Stanley returned to the Red Sox the next year in a midseason trade with the Blue Jays, and he continued his hot hitting.

DAVID CONE
David Cone had transformed into a finesse pitcher while with the Yankees and won 20 games in 1998 and even pitched a perfect game. He had a horrendous year in 2000, losing 14 games with an ERA of 6.91. He left the Yankees to try to resurrect his career with the Red Sox in 2001. He went 9-7 with a 4.31 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 135.1 innings. A decent year, but Cone continued to have injury problems.

RAMIRO MENDOZA
Ramiro Mendoza was a big part of the Yankees bullpen for the dynasty years of 1998-2001. He left the Yankees for a free agent contract with the Red Sox in 2003 and spent two seasons in the Red Sox bullpen. Inconsistency and injuries were a problem for Mendoza. His ERA in 2003 was 6.75. He improved considerably in 2004 but was limited due to injuries and did not pitch in the postseason. He returned to the Yankees in 2005.

JOHN OLERUD
John Olerud was picked up late in the 2004 season by the Yankees, but he did not produce much for them. He was let go as a free agent after the season. The Red Sox picked him up in May to platoon with Kevin Millar at first base. Olerud played 87 games with the Red Sox and hit .289/.344/.451/.795 with seven home runs in his last hurrah as a Major Leaguer.

One-Year Wonder Pt. 8: Pokey Reese

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

POKEY REESE
Pokey Reese was never really a great player, but I always liked him anyway. Reese was a very good defensive middle infielder with great speed. He came up with the Reds and was a highly rated prospect. He was rated so highly that Cincinnati balked at including him in the deal with the Mariners for Ken Griffey Jr. He never really developed into that great of a player, but he had his valuable abilities.

The Red Sox originally acquired Reese prior to the 2002 season in a trade with Colorado for Scott Hatteberg. They non-tendered him though to try to re-sign him for a lower salary. The Pirates though swooped in and got him, so he never played a game in his first stint with the Red Sox.

Reese spent two seasons with the Pirates before signing with the Red Sox before the 2004 season. He was a great defender with the Red Sox, compiling a defensive WAR of 2.2. He was valuable as a replacement for Nomar Garciaparra that year and contributed an inside-the-park home run among his three for the year, as well as making highlight reel catches. He was not much with the bat that year, but his speed and defense helped a great deal.