Coming off a pair of rained-out games against Cleveland, the Yankees had just enough time to activate David Cone, who missed his previous start after getting bitten on his pitching hand by his mother’s Jack Russell Terrier, Veronica. That skipped turn through the rotation helped launch Orlando Hernandez’s career, as a rookie El Duque seized his opportunity and never looked back, bouncing Ramiro Mendoza from the rotation in the process.
Cone’s wasn’t the only injury influencing the Yankees’ decision making in the early days of June. Derek Jeter was tending to a strained abdominal muscle while Bernie Williams had just landed on the DL with a sprained knee that would ultimately cost him a month.