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When New York Yankees fans tune in for a YES Network broadcast, the voice of Michael Kay, the team’s longtime play-by-play announcer, is usually the one welcoming them to another game.
As the camera pans out, though, YES Yankees analyst David Cone, the five-time World Series champion and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, is usually to his left.
Cone has been one of the most trusted color commentators in baseball, for his embrace of analytics, keen insight from his 17 years pitching to a career 3.46 ERA with five different teams, including the Yankees for six seasons, and much more.
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David Cone smiles after throwing the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 in New York, New York. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
But with all the stats and knowledge that Cone possesses, there’s also the wit – the entertainment factor that can be only categorized as “Coney-isms.”
It’s not necessarily the same as “Yogi-isms,” which Yankees great Yogi Berra was known for, but nonetheless, Cone’s metaphors throughout the YES broadcasts offers a nostalgic feel from the past that just feels right in today’s modern MLB.
And if you ask Cone about those “Coney-isms,” he is quite humble about their origins.
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“I think it’s just probably being influenced by other people in the game. You’re always stealing something from somebody, it’s kinda all been done before,” Cone told Fox News Digital, laughing.
When the pre-game show is over and it’s about time for first pitch, Cone is usually the one breaking down the Yankees’ starter for that night. And that breakdown almost always begins with Cone saying, “Toeing the slab,” in reference to the mound.
Baseball fans will know other phrases that rattle off his tongue like “worm-burner,” to reference a sharply-hit groundball, but others are perfectly placed metaphors when he can find the right moment, which is what he learned from a former player-turned-broadcaster like himself.
“For me, it was Dennis Eckersley,” the Hall of Fame reliever who is also in the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame for his work as the Boston Red Sox’s color analyst. “Dennis Eckersley kinda had this whole lingo to himself. I think he was the one who originally coined a ‘walk-off piece.’ For him, it’s when a pitcher had to walk off the mound after giving up the winning run. He doesn’t like this, but it’s morphed into the offense to celebrate a walk-off. Originally for him, it was for the pitcher – that awful walk-off feeling. You had to walk off the mound when the game’s over when you just lost it.”
David Cone throws the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 in New York, New York. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
While Cone has some original quips in his years broadcasting, he’s a sponge when it comes to hearing something he loves, like “phone-booth swing.”
“The first time I heard somebody say ‘phone booth swing,’ like you’re swinging in a phone booth. Somebody that’s completely tied up and make a ugly, little, half-hearted swing is like swinging in a phone booth. That was [Kansas City Royals former reliever] Dan Quisenberry, he taught me that one in the early ‘80s. So, some of it is just wit, coming up with your own little wit that you can interject into there and come up with your own metaphor.”
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One of Cone’s favorites, which he says is an original he’s proud of, was the first time he ripped off a “Forrest Gump ball” during a broadcast. During Tom Hanks critically acclaimed film, his Forrest Gump character discusses where he got shot during his time servicing in the Vietnam War.
“That’s an easy one to call – a Forrest Gump ball. His famous line in the movie, ‘In the buttock,’” Cone said. “You’re always looking for pop culture references, music references if possible. And that sort of thing is something you have to be open for, but not forced. Look for opportunities to be able to use them.”
When Cone is calling a game in the booth at Yankee Stadium, the “Boogie Down Bronx” is always a fan favorite. He said he became “enamored” by hip-hop culture while he was playing in the Bronx, so he’s made it a point over the years to connect with that side of history surrounding the stadium.
“That’s an homage to the pride of the Bronx,” he explained. “There’s a reason it’s called the ‘Boogie Down Bronx.’ You check your history in hip hop, and it’s credited with being the birthplace [of it]. So, yeah, it’s just the pride of the Bronx.”
Former New York Yankees David Cone poses for a photo prior to the game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium on June 24, 2022 in New York City. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
From calling a filthy slider a “Frisbee,” to saying a pitcher “had some traffic, but avoided getting hit in the middle of the road,” there’s been a phrase for every situation it seems when Cone is on the mic.
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All of it is done for the love of the game.
“I think it just comes from trying to be light and funny and entertaining when it’s appropriate,” he said. “The game lends itself to that at certain points. When the game is dragging a little bit when opposed to a really action-packed game. Then, the game kinda calls itself at that point. There are certainly opportunities to be light and funny and entertaining when you can because people watch these games to escape from whatever’s going on. That connection to the Yankees over the years.”
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