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For fourteen years, Yogi Berra and late owner George Steinbrenner didn't see eye to eye for about fifteen years. Early in the 1985 season, Berra was fired via a third-party announcement from Clyde King despite reassurance from Steinbrenner himself that his job was safe. Angry, Berra didn't visit Yankee Stadium for fourteen years and cut off all ties with the club. In 1999, Steinbrenner apologized personally to Berra, and they became friends again. In honor of Berra, July 18, 1999 (between the Yankees and Expos) was "Yogi Berra Day."

And in tribute, Don Larsen (the pitcher who threw the perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series at Yankee Stadium against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first since the White Sox's Charlie Robertson on April 30, 1922) threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Berra (who caught the perfecto).

It was just the start, as David Cone pitched against Montréal's Javier Vazquez.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xE83Kj2tEQ

Today, fifteen years ago, Cone threw what was then the sixteenth perfect game in history, the third by the Yankees. During the game, Cone struck out ten, never got a three-ball count (his worst being 2-0), and threw only 88 pitches. It was the second perfect game in over a year, also by a Yankee (David Wells on May 17 [beanie-Baby Day] against the Twins). Chuck Knoblauch's throwing woes took a day off, throwing a sharp dart to first to retire Jose Vidro for the twenty-third consecutive out. There were two great plays, one by Paul O'Neill with one out in the first to retire Terry Jones (a sliding catch), the other by Ricky Ledée with one out in the ninth to retire pinch-hitter Ryan McGuire (catching the ball after losing it in the sun…with the glasses down). Orlando Cabrerra (who would win a championship with Boston in 2004) was out #27, popping out on a 1-1 pitch to Scott Brosius in foul territory down the third-base line.

And Cone did it with Don Larsen in attendance. ^__^

And Joe Torre, the manager at the time, turned 59 years old that day. Not a bad birthday present. ^__^

On a personal note, I watched the perfect game from the ceremony to the final out on TV with my dad, stepmom, and stepsister. It's the first of two times I watched a no-hitter live on TV for the entire game (the other Roy Halladay's no-hitter in the NLDS against Cincinnati).

You can watch the whole game through the video (courtesy of MLB's MLB Classics page) below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwod7qO4y40