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When is a perfect game not a perfect game?

Despite Cone's mastery of the Expos, some of our users feel the salary difference between the two teams helped him out. AP

CNN/SI asked users to respond to concerns that David Cone's perfect game against Montreal was somehow tainted by the fact that the Expos have a payroll that, in its entirety, wouldn't pay for the three top Yankees. We received hundreds of responses, most supportive of Cone's feat, but many expressed concern that perfect games are occurring with increasing frequency.

David Cone's perfect game was a lifetime achievement no matter whether it came against the lifeless Expos or outstanding Indians. To be the 14th or 16th (depending on who you are listening to) player to ever pitch a perfect game in the Major Leagues says a lot about who you are and what you did. Anybody that would take this moment and try to lessen it because the Expos are not a quality team needs to have their head examined. David Cone, I take my hat off to you.
-- Aaron Blacker, Mililani, Hawaii

Yes, his masterpiece should carry an asterisk. It's the salary debate that makes baseball (among other pro sports) way too predictable. The team with the highest payroll is almost always in the championship series. Of course, there is Baltimore, which is a good example of a bad investment. Anyway, when you're pitching against AAA teams, you're going to do well. The Expos have been a AAA team since the strike season. Just look at all of the players that have been 'called up' since then and are now all stars.
-- Brian Good, Madison, Wis.

What David Cone did yesterday should not lose any of its luster because it was against the Montreal Expos. The Expos may not be a team of New York's caliber but there have been a lot of teams in the history of the game that were less talented than this team is. This Expo team has a ton of potential. If you don't believe so, just want five years when these guys are stars for playoff caliber teams across the country. Haven't you paid any attention to the kind of players this franchise has produced the last ten years?
-- Brian Stangl, Minneapolis, Minn.

Yes it was against the Expos but last I checked they had 27 people go up to the plate with bats and take their swings. All it takes is one crack of the bat and there goes a perfect game. So I don't think there should be any downplaying of who Cone got his perfect game against.
-- Dean Holmes, Atlanta, Ga.

How about the Dodgers and Orioles? I don't think there is a financial gap. It is more of a talent gap. What the Yankees have done is manage to keep important parts of a team together for a few years with the addition of some players here and there. The money spent is not an issue with what has happened this year in Baltimore and Los Angeles. Chemistry and teamwork makes a champion -- not dollars.
-- Jesse Rodelo, Los Angeles, Calif.

I have to side with Adam Smith and his free market economy on this one. Teams generate money by being popular commercially and within the game itself. How do they do that? By winning! Granted not every team has the same financial capacity, but money does not necessarily produce talented and successful ballclubs. I do feel however that Cone's perfect game is somewhat tainted being that it came against a team whose combined salaries are lower than John Travolta's paycheck for "The General's Daughter."
-- Matthew Alpert, Los Angeles, Calif.

Baseball is in a terrible state and the product being put out on the field is a joke in some markets compared to others. David Cone should be happy with himself, but perhaps not thrilled.
-- Steven Sample, Dallas, Texas

All of the criticism surrounding baseball as focused on the dilution of talent in the pitching ranks. Now, you are trying to say turn that around? I find that any perfect game, whether thrown against the Expos or the Tulsa Drillers, is an incredible feat. I guess the perfecto tossed by David Wells against Minnesota last season was a farce. Perfect games are the result of a pitcher being in an incredible groove and being incredibly lucky. David Cone deserves all the accolades that accompany an effort such as the one he gave yesterday.
-- Shawn Heilbron, Dallas, Texas

Cone still had a perfect game. When he faced the batters in the 8th inning, he was probably pretty nervous. And that increased as the 9th inning started. He still had to stay calm as the last batter came to the plate and as he pitched the final pitch. He could have spoiled the whole game by giving in and walking the last batter, but he didn't. He stayed focused. He remained perfect.
-- Todd Paddon, Edmonton, Alberta

I think this perfect game is as perfect as any of the other no-hitters. Throwing pitches for nine whole innings and not making a single mistake is incredible. I don't think that anyone should question why there have been more no-hitters this decade. To accomplish such a feat is remarkable and it just shows that there are many pitchers nowadays who can dominate a game. And since this decade is known for the large jump in batting averages and home runs, there is no question that a no-hitter is as impressive as it used to be.
-- Daniel Yi, Princeton, N.J.

I guess if you want to throw an asterisk on this perfect game, lets go back to last year and start labeling the number of home runs Mark and Sammy hit from teams with lousy pitchers or just from lousy pitchers themselves. You can argue that they still had to hit the pitches out, but a lot of those seemed to be put on tees for them, and given enough tries, they should hit some out. There are no asterisks on their numbers (and there shouldn't be) even though the pitching in the Major League hasn't been overly spectacular at times. You can't judge the pitchers throwing to these men and you cant judge the batters or team hitting against David Cone yesterday.
-- Carl Damiani, Canton, Ohio

David Cone is one of the best pitchers in baseball. The fact that he pitched a perfect game against a team which has a payroll just over twice what he makes, does point to the widening economic gap in baseball, between large market teams like the Yankees, and the small market Expos. That still doesn't mean it should take all of the credit away from Cone. He pitched a masterpiece, and we shouldn't take for granted the difficulty in pitching a perfect game against any team, even the Expos.
-- Chris Pummer, Manhattan, Kan.

I will agree that over-expansion of base has watered down the game to a degree. However, at any level, a perfect game is a feat so rarely accomplished that it should not be demeaned in any way. This is especially true when you consider the atmosphere of Mr. Cone's performance. Yankee Stadium. 98 degrees. All the legends staring over your shoulder including Don Larsen. On an average day one could expect that even a college team would muster up a couple of hits. So to say that a game like that was a result of watered down teams is not well thought out.
-- Dave Liverance, West Milford, N.J.

Just as there have been powerhouse teams throughout the entire history of baseball, so have there been the corresponding historical doormats. The Cleveland Spiders, Washington Senators, and St. Louis Browns are amongst the more famous examples. Those teams either dissolved or moved on to different cities in order to try to better compete. As a San Franciscan, I remember how close we were to losing our team, but I think that a franchise moving on to a new city is far preferable to seeing it fold entirely. Moving teams, however, should be an absolute last resort. And high payrolls don't always correlate to automatic success on the field: just ask the Dodgers and Orioles.
-- Eric C. Thompson, San Francisco, Calif.

A perfect game is a perfect game no matter who it is against. With thousands of games played in the history of professional baseball, the most prestigious reward for a pitcher is a perfect game. There have been worse teams than the '99 Expos to play in MLB yet there are only 14 perfect games ever.
-- George Tabit, Fayetteville, W.V.

Defensively the Expos stink, but offensively they are a fairly talented young team. This was a case of a veteran pitcher against a young Expos lineup that still should have had a chance to score some runs. I take nothing away from David Cone.
-- Gavin S. Smith, Philadelphia, Penn.

As a Canadian citizen I have definitely noticed the Gap between rich and poor teams. The Expos have produced some of baseballs best players for example Larry Walker, Moises Alou, Pedro Martinez and other but because of the Canadian dollar being worth almost half as much of the American dollar the players were lost to Free Agency. Just another example of big city teams fleecing smaller market teams of their superstars.
-- Rob Hudson, Toronto, Ontario

 

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