David Wells

CLEVELAND -- OK, if you expected this from David Wells when he walked away from the Orioles two years ago, please raise your hand.Be honest. If you expected Wells to go 34-14 over two regular seasons, throw a perfect game in Yankee Stadium and become baseball's best postseason pitcher, raise you hand.Hello? Anyone out there?Of course not.No one expected Wells to do this. Not even Wells himself.After going 11-14 with a 5.14 ERA for the Orioles in 1996, Wells hardly seemed a candidate for a miraculous career leap.

Good morning -- David Wells -- We can only imagine what you'll do with all this free time.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- It has been nearly three years since David Wells stalked angrily out of the Toronto Blue Jays' spring training facility, since manager Cito Gaston gave up on him and general manager Pat Gillick gave him his unconditional release just days before the start of the 1993 season.It has been three years -- certainly an adequate cooling-off period -- and yet it still was strange to see Wells walk through the Orioles' spring clubhouse Friday and stop to exchange small talk with his new general manager, who happens to be Pat Gillick.

In the winter meetings leading up to the 2006 season, one of the Orioles' top priorities was finding a closer. "It seemed like all we wanted to do," manager Sam Perlozzo recalled. Orioles@Red Sox Tonight, 7:05, Comcast SportsNet, 1090 AM Starters: O's Adam Loewen (2-3, 5.72) vs. Red Sox's David Wells (0-2, 8.05)

TAMPA, Fla. -- The New York Yankees are getting their first long look at free-agent pitcher David Wells, and they have to be wondering how they ever let Jimmy Key get away.Wells made a bad enough first impression when he broke his pitching hand in a San Diego street fight in January, but his image has taken a further beating the first few days of spring training.He has been unable to participate in full workouts because of a lingering case of gout that has inflamed the joint in his right big toe, the same problem that sidelined him in Baltimore for two weeks last May. It is a condition that is aggravated by certain foods and alcohol, but Wells was defiant when reporters asked him Tuesday if the problem might be the result of his indulgent lifestyle.

Good morning -- David Wells -- We can only imagine what you'll do with all this free time.

Hitting Tom Goodwin, Rangers: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBIs. Pitching David Wells, Yankees: 8 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 9 strikeouts. Jamie Moyer, Mariners: 7 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs. Carlos Castillo, White Sox, 3 1/3 relief innings, 0 runs, 0 hits. Pub Date: 5/13/98

HittingDeivi Cruz, Tigers: grand slam, triple.Albert Belle, White Sox: 4 RBIs, HR.PitchingDavid Wells, Yankees: 9 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 13 strikeouts.Chris Carpenter, Blue Jays: 7 innings, 1 run, 4 hits.Pub Date: 9/02/98

Opponent: New York Yankees Site: Yankee Stadium, New York Time: 7:05 TV/Radio: CSN/WBAL (1090 AM) Starters: Orioles' Scott Erickson (1-1, 2.57) vs. Yankees' David Wells (2-0, 3.05)

On deck Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox looks to go 7-0 as he faces the rival Yankees tonight in the start of four-game series at Fenway Park. He said it "It's not a back factor, it's an age factor." David Wells, Yankees pitcher, listed as day-to-day, said he felt pressure in his back during a workout but no spasms

WHO'S UP Red Sox starters starters are 8-0 in 10 games since Curt Schilling and David Wells went on the disabled list. WHO'S DOWN The Brewers The Brewers have allowed 13 homers in their past four games. BATTING LINE OF THE DAY Albert Pujols, Cards 1B AB R H RBI HR 2 2 2 4 2 PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY Tim Hudson, Braves IP H R BB SO 3 2/3 10 7 3 3

Opponent: New York Yankees Site: Camden Yards Time: 3:05 p.m. TV/Radio: Comcast SportsNet/WBAL (1090 AM) Starters: Yankees' David Wells (10-2, 3.40) vs. Orioles' Jason Johnson (6-3, 3.80)

TAMPA, Fla. - The heart palpitations started on a Sunday night in March 1996 as David Wells sat in his hotel room after a day of spring training workouts with the Orioles. When Wells arrived at Fort Lauderdale Stadium for work the next morning, his heart was still speeding. By that afternoon, Wells was admitted to Holy Cross Hospital, intravenous tubes in his arms, his heart pounding and his mind racing. At one point, doctors measured his heartbeat at nearly 200 beats per minute. Wells had an irregular heartbeat, the doctors told him, and they recommended stopping his heart, then starting it again by shocking it with a defibrillator.

With their season reduced to two games, the Orioles invited a select group of fans onto the field last night and offered the shirts off their backs. It seemed an appropriate gesture from a team left exposed for the past five weeks. The fifth sellout crowd at Camden Yards this summer watched the New York Yankees, intent on entering the playoffs with a full head of steam, call on their usual resources to defeat the Orioles, 4-2, before 48,165. David Wells (19-7) blanked the Orioles on two hits over six innings, coming out after 60 pitches to stay fresh for the American League Division Series.