David Cone

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-2003)

David Cone was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2003 for 5 teams, including the Kansas City Royals, a span of 18 seasons. Across 450 career appearances, he went 194-126 with a 3.46 ERA and 2,668 strikeouts. He also batted .155 with 0 home runs. David Cone was a 5-time All-Star and a Cy Young. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 47099.2.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 194–126
ERA 3.46
WHIP 1.26
SO 2,668
Pitcher PIV 47099.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
1/2/1963 in Kansas City, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1986-06-08
Last Game
2003-05-28
Awards
5× All-Star · Cy Young

Full name: David Brian Cone

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Career Pitching Statistics

David Cone — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
194 126 450 419 56 22 1 2898.2 2,504 1,115 258 1,137 2,668 3.46 47099.2

Career ERA 3.46 vs. league average 4.25 across their career seasons — 18.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

David Cone Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1986 KCA AL 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 22.2 29 14 13 21 5.56 3.97 (-40%) 31.0
1987 NYN NL 5 6 21 13 1 0 1 99.1 87 41 44 68 3.71 4.29 (+13%) -317.5
1988 NYN NL 20 3 35 28 8 4 0 231.1 178 57 80 213 2.22 3.73 (+41%) 6996.8
1989 NYN NL 14 8 34 33 7 2 0 219.2 183 86 74 190 3.52 3.71 (+5%) 2459.6
1990 NYN NL 14 10 31 30 6 2 0 211.2 177 76 65 233 3.23 3.86 (+16%) 5684.3
1991 NYN NL 14 14 34 34 5 2 0 232.2 204 85 73 241 3.29 3.91 (+16%) 8503.0
1992 NYN NL 13 7 27 27 7 5 0 196.2 162 63 82 214 2.88 3.75 (+23%) 4896.8
1992 TOR AL 4 3 8 7 0 0 0 53.0 39 15 29 47 2.55 3.75 (+32%) 252.8
1993 KCA AL 11 14 34 34 6 1 0 254.0 205 94 114 191 3.33 4.19 (+21%) 1456.7
1994 KCA AL 16 5 23 23 4 3 0 171.2 130 56 54 132 2.94 4.51 (+35%) 3183.8
1995 TOR AL 9 6 17 17 5 2 0 130.1 113 49 41 102 3.38 4.45 (+24%) 2199.0
1995 NYA AL 9 2 13 13 1 0 0 99.0 82 42 47 89 3.82 4.45 (+14%) 291.6
1996 NYA AL 7 2 11 11 1 0 0 72.0 50 23 34 71 2.88 4.61 (+38%) 2502.4
1997 NYA AL 12 6 29 29 1 0 0 195.0 155 61 86 222 2.82 4.39 (+36%) 5269.5
1998 NYA AL 20 7 31 31 3 0 0 207.2 186 82 59 209 3.55 4.43 (+20%) 5328.6
1999 NYA AL 12 9 31 31 1 1 0 193.1 164 74 90 177 3.44 4.71 (+27%) 2142.0
2000 NYA AL 4 14 30 29 0 0 0 155.0 192 119 82 120 6.91 4.77 (-45%) -2612.9
2001 BOS AL 9 7 25 25 0 0 0 135.2 148 65 57 115 4.31 4.42 (+2%) -158.9
2003 NYN NL 1 3 5 4 0 0 0 18.0 20 13 13 13 6.50 4.40 (-48%) -1009.3
Career · 19 seasons 194 126 450 419 56 22 1 2,898.2 2,504 1,115 1,137 2,668 3.46 — 47,099

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

David Cone — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
451 412 28 64 9 0 0 22 0 16 91 .155 .192 .177 .369 -2,558

Career AVG .155 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 41.0% below league average.

Career OBP .192 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 42.1% below league average.

Career SLG .177 vs. league average .409 across their career seasons — 56.7% below league average.

Career OPS .369 vs. league average .741 across their career seasons — 50.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

David Cone Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1986 KCA AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYN NL 21 31 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 .065 — — — — 0.0
1988 NYN NL 35 80 2 12 3 0 0 2 0 3 14 .150 .254 (-41%) .317 (-43%) .377 (-50%) .695 (-47%) -582.7
1989 NYN NL 34 77 9 18 2 0 0 4 0 2 13 .234 .254 (-8%) .319 (-21%) .375 (-31%) .694 (-26%) -310.2
1990 NYN NL 32 70 7 14 1 0 0 5 0 5 12 .200 .257 (-22%) .324 (-22%) .385 (-44%) .710 (-34%) -362.7
1991 NYN NL 34 72 3 9 0 0 0 5 0 3 14 .125 .255 (-51%) .323 (-44%) .384 (-68%) .708 (-57%) -641.3
1992 NYN NL 27 65 5 6 1 0 0 4 0 3 19 .092 .255 (-64%) .322 (-59%) .377 (-71%) .699 (-66%) -660.9
1992 TOR AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — -660.9
1993 KCA AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 KCA AL 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 TOR AL 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 NYA AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 NYA AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1997 NYA AL 29 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
1998 NYA AL 31 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1999 NYA AL 31 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
2000 NYA AL 30 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 — — — — 0.0
2001 BOS AL 25 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 NYN NL 5 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 451 412 28 64 9 0 0 22 0 16 91 .155 — — — — -3,219

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

David Cone — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
21 16 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .188

Playoff Batting by Year

David Cone — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2000 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2000 WS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 WS NYA 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 ALCS NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 WS NYA 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
1997 ALDS1 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1996 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1996 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1996 WS NYA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1995 ALDS2 NYA 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1992 ALCS TOR 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1992 WS TOR 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .500
1988 NLCS NYN 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

David Cone — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
8 3 21 18 0 111.1 93 47 58 94 3.80

Playoff Pitching by Year

David Cone — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2000 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.00
2000 WS NYA 0 0 1 0 0 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.00
1999 ALCS NYA 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 7 2 3 9 2.57
1999 WS NYA 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 1 0 5 4 0.00
1998 ALCS NYA 1 0 2 2 0 13.0 12 6 6 13 4.15
1998 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 1 1 0 5.2 2 0 1 6 0.00
1998 WS NYA 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 2 2 3 4 3.00
1997 ALDS1 NYA 0 0 1 1 0 3.1 7 6 2 2 16.20
1996 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 5 2 5 5 3.00
1996 ALDS2 NYA 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 8 6 2 8 9.00
1996 WS NYA 1 0 1 1 0 6.0 4 1 4 3 1.50
1995 ALDS2 NYA 1 0 2 2 0 15.2 15 8 9 14 4.60
1992 ALCS TOR 1 1 2 2 0 12.0 11 4 5 9 3.00
1992 WS TOR 0 0 2 2 0 10.1 9 4 8 8 3.48
1988 NLCS NYN 1 1 3 2 0 12.0 10 6 5 9 4.50

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (901 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

David Cone — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home217186113208.172
Away2342261732014.142

Pitching — Home / Away

David Cone — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2171442.1122552454313783.27
Away2331456.1127959259412903.66

Last 10 Games — Batting

David Cone — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2003-05-28 NYNPHIL 000000000
2003-04-22 NYNHOUL 000000000
2003-04-16 NYNPITL 200000000
2003-04-11 NYNWSNL 100000001
2003-04-04 NYNWSNW 101000000
2001-10-06 BOSBALW 000000000
2001-10-01 BOSTBRL 000000000
2001-09-24 BOSBALL 000000000
2001-09-19 BOSTBRL 000000000
2001-09-08 BOSNYYL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

David Cone — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2003-05-28 NYNPHI — 2.0111201
2003-04-22 NYNHOU L 2.0322310
2003-04-16 NYNPIT L 5.0633231
2003-04-11 NYNWSN L 4.0877342
2003-04-04 NYNWSN W 5.0200350
2001-10-06 BOSBAL W 8.0310270
2001-10-01 BOSTBR L 2.2666330
2001-09-24 BOSBAL — 5.0611240
2001-09-19 BOSTBR L 5.1542270
2001-09-08 BOSNYY L 5.2666332

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

David Cone — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 450 419 220 271 28 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

David Cone — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1986 KCA P 11 0 4 0 0 0
1987 NYN P 21 13 12 10 1 0
1988 NYN P 35 28 17 23 1 0
1989 NYN P 34 33 21 14 1 0
1990 NYN P 31 30 17 20 3 1
1991 NYN P 34 34 18 26 4 2
1992 NYN P 27 27 16 20 2 1
1992 TOR P 8 7 2 2 0 0
1993 KCA P 34 34 24 24 1 3
1994 KCA P 23 23 20 18 3 3
1995 TOR P 17 17 5 18 2 2
1995 NYA P 13 13 7 9 1 0
1996 NYA P 11 11 6 5 1 1
1997 NYA P 29 29 9 13 2 0
1998 NYA P 31 31 12 25 1 3
1999 NYA P 31 31 7 12 1 1
2000 NYA P 30 29 9 20 2 0
2001 BOS P 25 25 14 9 2 0
2003 NYN P 5 4 0 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

David Cone Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 450

Awards & Honors

David Cone — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1999 Player of the Week Week of 1999-07-17
1998 Hutch Award
1998 Pitcher of the Month July
1998 Player of the Week Week of 1998-07-04
1994 Cy Young Award
1994 Pitcher of the Month May
1994 Player of the Week Week of 1994-05-21
1994 TSN All-Star RHP
1992 Player of the Week Week of 1992-05-02
1991 Player of the Week Week of 1991-10-05
1988 Pitcher of the Month May

Salary History

David Cone — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2001 BOS AL $1,000,000
2000 NYA AL $12,000,000
1999 NYA AL $9,500,000
1998 NYA AL $6,666,667
1997 NYA AL $6,666,667
1996 NYA AL $4,666,667
1995 TOR AL $8,000,000
1994 KCA AL $5,000,000
1993 KCA AL $5,000,000
1992 NYN NL $4,250,000
1991 NYN NL $2,350,000
1990 NYN NL $1,300,000
1989 NYN NL $332,500
1988 NYN NL $92,500
1987 NYN NL $62,500
1986 KCA AL $60,000
Total Career Earnings $66,947,501

Award Voting History

David Cone — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1999 Cy Young Award AL 6th 3.0 140 0
1998 Cy Young Award AL 4th 16.0 140 0
1995 Cy Young Award AL 4th 18.0 140 0
1994 Cy Young Award AL 1st 108.0 140 15
1994 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 40.0 392 0
1988 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 42.0 120 0
1988 Most Valuable Player NL 10th 37.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

David Cone (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dwight Gooden
    194-112, 3.51 ERA
  2. 96
    Jon Lester
    200-117, 3.66 ERA
  3. 85
    A. J. Burnett
    164-157, 3.99 ERA
  4. 83
    Felix Hernandez
    169-136, 3.42 ERA
  5. 80
    Fernando Valenzuela
    173-153, 3.54 ERA
  6. 80
    Kevin Appier
    169-137, 3.74 ERA

Compare David Cone

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Cone's closest peers by position and era.

vs Roger Clemens
vs Greg Maddux
vs Randy Johnson
vs Pedro Martinez
vs Nolan Ryan
vs Curt Schilling

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See David Cone in Another Era

What would Cone's 1988 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate David Cone's peak season across eras →

David Cone: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 8, 1986 and the final game on May 28, 2003, David Cone built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Kansas City Royals (1986 through 1994), the New York Mets (1987 to 2003), the Toronto Blue Jays (1992 to 1995), the New York Yankees (1995 through 2000), and the Boston Red Sox (2001). Listed as a pitcher, Cone threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Cone is listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. Cone was born on January 2, 1963, in Kansas City, MO, USA. Cone's full given name, per the bio, is David Brian Cone.

Cone pitched in 450 games, starting 419, and finished with a 194-126 record and 3.46 ERA. The same table counts 2,668 strikeouts, 56 complete games, and 22 shutouts. Against a 4.25 league ERA for the same years, Cone was 18.6% better. 1988 brought Cone a season-high 20 wins. The strikeout high was 241 in 1991.

Frequently Asked Questions about David Cone

What years did David Cone play?
David Cone played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2003.
Was David Cone a pitcher?
Yes. David Cone pitched in the major leagues, recording 194 wins and 2668 strikeouts.
How many home runs did David Cone hit?
David Cone hit 0 career home runs with 64 hits.
What was David Cone's career batting average?
David Cone batted .155 over his career, with 64 hits in 412 at bats.
How many RBI did David Cone have?
David Cone drove in 22 runs in his career.
What was David Cone's career ERA?
David Cone finished with a 3.46 career ERA, going 194-126 with 2,668 strikeouts.