With two games remaining in the regular season before the 2000 New York Yankees headed to the playoffs, having clinched the American League East in the game prior (albeit in a blowout loss), the hope was
that the Bombers could find some semblance of a rhythm. Even just a couple of games could help them gain some confidence before the most crucial part of the season.
However, in the second-to-last game of the season, the Yankees found themselves in the midst of yet another stinker. It was a merciful end to a brutal season for 37-year-old David Cone, who took the mound for his 144th and ultimately final start as a Yankee.
September 30: Yankees 1, Orioles 9 (box score)
Record: 87-73 (1st in AL East, 2.5 games ahead)
Cone squared off against the man who would eventually replace him in the Yankees rotation, Hall of Famer Mike Mussina. A pending free agent, Orioles ownership didn’t make nearly a good enough attempt to keep him, and he would sign in with New York in the offseason. So this would be his final start with the O’s. Both hurlers started the game off well, putting down the opposition for an inning, and Mussina working through the Yankees in order in the top of the second. But Cone was not as successful in the bottom half of the inning.
The problems began with the leadoff hitter, Albert Belle, who sent a single to right field, putting a man on for the legendary shortstop, Cal Ripken Jr. On the first pitch of the at-bat with Cone, Ripken sent a high fly ball out into left field and over the outfield wall to put the Orioles up 2-0 early. Cone would work two straight outs before allowing a walk and then promptly ending the inning.
Mussina saw the insurance runs on the board and kept up pace, working through the Yankees in order once again in the top of the third before his offense came back to the plate to tack on more runs. And Cone once again gave up a hit to the leadoff hitter, this time a home run to Orioles leadoff hitter Brady Anderson.
Up 3-0 after the Anderson homer, the Orioles worked a walk and another hit before the inning was over, and the Yankees did find their way back into the game thanks to the top part of the lineup.
In the top of the fourth inning with one out, Derek Jeter stepped up to the plate and smacked a line-drive single to right-center field. Paul O’Neill was unable to advance Jeter on the basepaths, but the Yankees shortstop hustled 270 feet all the way to home plate thanks to a hard single from Bernie Williams. New York ended up loading the bases following the score from Jeter, but a fly out to right field from Luis Sojo ended the inning with minimal damage.
That was all that the Yanks could muster against Mussina, who went 6.1 innings of one-run ball, fanning seven in his Baltimore swan song. The fans at Camden Yards serenaded him with a “Moose” call as he left the mound, and he doffed his cap, bowing at the ovation.
Back in the middle of this game though, Cone wasn’t able to keep the score within reach for very long. A leadoff double for Chris Richard set the tone before two straight strikeouts gave the Yankees right-hander some life. But Cone wasn’t able to close the inning out against Gene Kingsale, who singled through the right side into right field, scoring Richard. Anderson walked following the single, and Jerry Hairston Jr. sent another RBI single out to left field, putting the game’s score at 5-1.
Belle and Ripken would combine for the Orioles’ sixth run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Cal doubled on Cone’s final pitch of the regular season. No one knew for sure if he’d make the playoff roster, and fans wondered if they would ever see “Coney” pitch again. He would be consigned to the bullpen for the postseason, though he did at least have one more memorable moment up his sleeve before he bid the Bronx adieu.
The Yankees offense stayed quiet through the rest of the game, with five of the nine players in the order registering one hit, but only two — Jeter and David Justice — registering more than one. The Bombers fell for the sixth game in a row by a score of 6-1. As with Cone himself, the only mercy was that this agonzing end to the regular season had just one more game remaining before the beginning of the Division Series.
Read the full 2000 Yankees Diary series here.
