Editing David Wells (section)

===New York Yankees (1997–1998)===
In 1997, Wells signed as a free agent with the [[New York Yankees]], his favorite team because of a lifelong interest in baseball legend [[Babe Ruth]]. He asked for uniform number 3, Ruth's long-retired number, but was denied. He ended up taking 33 for the Yankees. On June 28, 1997, Wells took the mound wearing an authentic 1934 Babe Ruth hat, which he had bought for $35,000. Manager [[Joe Torre]] made Wells take it off after the first inning because it did not conform to uniform standards. He also fined Wells $2,500, which Wells was happy to pay and later said it was a small price to pay for the thrill of wearing the hat on the field even for one inning—even though Wells then blew a 3–0 lead as the [[Cleveland Indians]] won 12–8. After posting a 16–10 mark in 1997, Wells pitched very well in the Yankees' record-setting 1998 season. He rang up an 18–4 record, finished fifth in the league in ERA (3.49), was third in voting for the [[Cy Young Award]], and won a second World Series ring.

====Perfect game====
{{Main|David Wells' perfect game}}
On May 17, 1998, Wells pitched the 15th [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] in baseball history, when he blanked the [[Minnesota Twins]], 4–0. Wells attended the same [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] high school, [[Point Loma High School]], as [[Don Larsen]], whose perfect game for the Yankees in the [[1956 World Series]] was the only perfect game or no-hitter ever thrown in [[postseason]] play until 2010, and was until then the only perfect game thrown by a Yankee. ([[David Cone]] would add a third Yankee perfect game in 1999 and [[Domingo Germán]] an MLB-record fourth in 2023.) Wells claimed that he threw the perfect game while having a "raging, skull-rattling [[hangover]]".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/article/Dallas-Braden-comes-clean-A-s-starter-was-hung-15251241.php |title=Dallas Braden comes clean: A's starter was hung over for 2010 perfect game |author=Susan Slusser |date=May 7, 2020 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030301&content_id=207404&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp&c_id=null|title=Book 'em, David: Wells explains|author=Mark Feinsand|work=MLB.com|date=March 1, 2003|access-date=October 2, 2009|archive-date=October 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023150625/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20030301&content_id=207404&vkey=spt2003news&fext=.jsp&c_id=null|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/02/27/wells_hangover_ap/|title=Wells said he threw perfect game while 'half drunk'|website=sportsillustrated.cnn.com|date=February 27, 2003|url-status=dead|access-date=June 18, 2014|archive-date=November 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108233547/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/02/27/wells_hangover_ap/}}</ref> Comedian [[Jimmy Fallon]], who partied with Wells the night before the game, backed up this claim.<ref>{{Citation|last=Late Night with Seth Meyers|title=Jimmy Fallon Reminisces on Pitching an SNL Sketch to Mick Jagger|date=April 26, 2018|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztD_ojIVQjQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ztD_ojIVQjQ| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|access-date=April 26, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On September 1, 1998, Wells came fairly close to recording a second perfect game.  Pitching against the [[Oakland Athletics]], he allowed no walks and only two hits, the first of which came with two outs in the seventh inning when [[Jason Giambi]] fought off an 0–2 count and singled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA199809010.shtml|title=Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees Box Score, September 1, 1998 - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>