Sunday
Padres at Yankees
1 p.m., YES
Some days, Joe Girardi recalls, he could only laugh at David Wells.
Wells would walk into the Yankee clubhouse and say he might not be able to pitch because his back hurt.
“The next thing you know he is in the eighth inning, having given up one run or no runs and you’re saying, ‘I thought you felt bad today,'” said Girardi, Wells’ former batterymate and now a YES analyst.
Wells, a/k/a Boomer, returns to the Stadium on Sunday, when he’s scheduled to start against his old team.
Although he now plays for his hometown Padres, Wells is returning to what he would likely say is his true baseball home, the team for which he pitched a perfect game.
“He had that New York personality,” said ESPN’s David Justice, a former Yankee, who played with Wells in the Venezuelan Leagues.
“He mingled with the people. He had a few beers. He got in a few fights. He is just an average every-day man. I think the true New York fan appreciated what he did for the team.”
“It is like any other sport. The fans don’t particularly care what you do outside the sport – unless it is a felony – as long as you do well on that mound. That is what matters most in the world of sports. If you are performing well, a lot of things will be overlooked. If you are not performing well, nothing is overlooked.”
Throughout his two stints with the Yankees, Wells wore his pinstripes a little bit differently than the rest of his teammates. When it came time to perform in a big spot, though, Wells often found a way.
“I thought he was a character and I thought he was a good character to have in the clubhouse,” Girardi said. “Not everyone is going to be as disciplined and as calm in a clubhouse as a Paul O’Neill. Guys beat to a little bit of a different drum. A lot of times he would beat to Metallica and Pearl Jam and bands like that and the rest of us weren’t. He is a big kid at heart.”
A 41-year-old kid returning home.