David Wells
A portly, hard-partying left-hander with pinpoint control who authored a perfect game for the Yankees and thrived on baseball's biggest stages.
Born 1963 (age 63)·American baseball player·Birthday: May 20·Baby Boomers
Biography
David 'Boomer' Wells defied the classic athlete's mold. With a physique that seemed better suited for a weekend softball league, he possessed a laser-sharp fastball and a curveball that left hitters baffled. His career was a colorful odyssey across nine MLB teams, marked by a love for nightlife, frank opinions, and a competitive fire that burned brightest when the lights were brightest. Pitching for his hometown San Diego Padres, then the Toronto Blue Jays, he became an All-Star, but his legend was cemented in pinstripes. On a day he later admitted he was hungover, Wells pitched a perfect game for the 1998 New York Yankees, a team considered one of the greatest ever. A big-game pitcher, he won World Series rings with the Jays and Yankees, and his postseason appearances with six different teams remains a remarkable record of clutch performance.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
David was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Pitched the 15th perfect game in MLB history on May 17, 1998, for the New York Yankees.
- Won World Series championships with two different teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1992) and the New York Yankees (1998).
- Made three American League All-Star teams (1995, 1998, 2000) over a 21-season career.
- Tied for the MLB record by appearing in the postseason with six different franchises.
Did You Know?
He claimed to have been hungover when he pitched his 1998 perfect game.
Wells is an avid collector of baseball memorabilia, particularly items related to Babe Ruth, and once wore a cap purportedly owned by Ruth during a game.
He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 1982 draft but also had a basketball scholarship to Gonzaga University.
Later in his career, he pitched a complete game victory for the Boston Red Sox in the 2005 playoffs at the age of 42.
“I half-jokingly said I was half-drunk when I pitched my perfect game. But let's just say I was well-hydrated.”
