Former New York Yankees RF Paul O'Neill - bleachereport.com
Paul Andrew O’Neill made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1985. In 1992, the Reds traded O’Neill to the New York Yankees, where he earned the nickname “The Warrior.”
Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner gave him that nickname due to his love of baseball. And he indeed earned that nickname.
Let’s highlight some games where he was a “Warrior” who always came out to play every time on every baseball field.
Paul O’Neill: The Warrior: The Beginning
At age five, the O’Neill family moved into a bigger house with a vast, grass-covered, and tree-shaded backyard ideal for a simulated baseball field. Here, the kids spent quality time playing games and competing in backyard home run derby events.
“That back yard was the best training ground for any future professional [ballplayer], and those home run derby games were especially ferocious,” O’Neill later recalled in his autobiography, Me and My Dad. The shape of the field also helped O’Neill develop a skill that would serve him well in his chosen profession: hitting the ball the other way. “The left-handers had to contend with our imposing maple tree in short right field… if the tree got a hold of a towering line drive and knocked back down onto the ground, guess what? It was an out. So I had to hit the ball to the opposite field to have a chance, and so the game taught me to go the other way,” he wrote.
Paul’s father took Paul to his first major league game, the Reds vs. the Pirates, in the summer of 1970. O’Neill took a liking to right fielder Roberto Clemente, a four-time batting champion and 12-time Gold Glove winner wearing number 21.
Paul O’Neill: The Warrior: Teen Years
O’Neill enrolled as a freshman at Brookhaven High School in Columbus, at 14 years old, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. An alpha at the plate and on the mound as a junior, he threw a no-hitter in the Columbus City Championship. The following year, after graduating, O’Neill was presented with college scholarship offers to play baseball and basketball. Additionally, professional baseball scouts, especially Gene Bennett from the Cincinnati Reds, caught notice. After much thought, O’Neill selected minor-league baseball instead of college.
Paul O’Neill: The Warrior: MLB Career
The Cincinnati Reds drafted O’Neill in the fourth round of the 1981 amateur draft. They immediately sent him to the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League. The eighteen-year-old, in only 66 games, batted .315 with seven doubles, two triples, and three home runs, along with 29 RBIs and 37 runs scored. Nevertheless, the Mustangs finished with a disappointing (30-40) record. In 1982, the Cedar Rapid Reds from the Class A Midwest League called O’Neill up, and what a season from him. In 116 games, O’Neill hit .272 with eight home runs and 71 RBIs. Therefore, the team finished last in the league’s South division at (61-79).
He started in 1983 with the Tampa Tarpons of the Class A Florida League. O’Neill batted .278 with eight home runs and 51 RBIs. He spent the remainder of the year in Waterbury, Connecticut, earning a call-up to the Double-A Waterbury Reds. O’Neill batted .279 with no home runs and 6 RBIs. O’Neill played the 1984 season for the Vermont Reds in the Eastern League. He batted .265 with 31 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs, 76 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. The Vermont Reds ended fourth in the Eastern League with a (75-65) record. In 1985, the Reds called up O’Neill to AAA’s Denver Zephyrs. In a stellar season, he hit .305 with seven home runs and 74 RBIs.
Paul O’Neill: The Warrior: Reds Debut
The Reds called up O’Neill on Sep. 3, 1985. The rising outfielder was ready for his big league debut. Pinch-hitting for Dave VanGorder in the top of the eighth inning, O’Neill singled to right field, allowing Dave Concepcion to move to third base. Ron Oester hit into an inning-ending double, and the rally was all for nothing.
O’Neill played in only four more games that September. In 12 at-bats, he had four hits, one double, one RBI, and one run scored. He hit .333, batted .417, and had a .750 OPS. In 1986, O’Neill played in both the minors and majors. He appeared in 55 games with Denver before he was briefly brought back to the Reds. He played in three games and was 0-2 at the plate.
Full Time at MLB
In 1988, O’Neill became a full-time major leaguer. On Sep. 16, 1988, Tom Browning pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers. “With highlights like that, 1988 flew by, and in my first full-fledged, full-length season with the Reds, I came away with 16 home runs, 73 RBIs, and eight stolen bases”, he said. O’Neill’s most significant highlight in 1990 was on July 29 against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. With two outs and a potential no-hitter, O’Neill hit a single on the first pitch off Scott Garrelts to break it up. O’Neill’s offense also picked up, hitting .270 with 16 home runs and 78 RBIs. He also played an outstanding right end, leading all National League right fielders in fielding percentage (.993) and outfield assists (13).
In 1991, O’Neill only batted .256, but his power numbers were a career-high. He had 28 home runs and 91 RBIs. With larger power measures came more significant projections for O’Neill. The Red’s management now saw him as a possible home run winner. He batted .361 with 29 RBIs but only hit four home runs. Because of the lack of power hitting, he was bombarded constantly with “we want you to hit more home runs.” O’Neill realized that he had a less-than-stellar season at the plate and knew that the Reds organization was disappointed. “Never in my worst nightmares did I think that would bring my tenure with my beloved Reds to an end.” But that is precisely what happened.
Trade from Reds to Yankees
On November 3, 1992, the Reds traded O’Neill and minor leaguer Joe DeBerry to the New York Yankees for center fielder Roberto Kelly. The news made O’Neill very upset. He was being dealt away from his hometown team, the only team in the league he ever played for. But his arrival days later persuaded O’Neill he would like to play in the Big Apple. “Once I’d set foot inside Yankee Stadium and met with [George] Steinbrenner and general manager Gene Michael, I could see that a whole new baseball life was out there,” he wrote.
Paul O’Neill: The Warrior: Career In Pinstripes
O’Neill’s first season in New York was a hit. Besides his defense, he hit .311 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs. In addition, the Yankees had a successful season, winning 88 games and finishing in second place in the AL East behind the World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays. In 1994, O’Neill and the Yankees played their best baseball brand since the 1970s dynasty. The Bombers boasted a (70-43) record with a massive lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles. However, the baseball world flipped upside down on its axis when the players and the MLBPA went on strike.
At first, O’Neill thought the strike would be temporary, with the two sides agreeing. “Never in my wildest thoughts, even in a worst-case scenario, did I think the World Series would be canceled. The mere idea of canceling the rest of the season seemed ridiculous,” he said. But within a few weeks, it was clear that the two sides wouldn’t reach an agreement in time to save the season. Commissioner Bud Selig made it official, canceling the rest of the regular season, the playoffs, and the World Series on September 14.
During the shortened 1994 season, O’Neill shined. He hit 21 home runs, 25 doubles, and 83 RBIs. He led the American League with a career-high batting average of .359. The talented outfielder finished second in on-base percentage (.461) and fourth in slugging (.603) and OPS (1.064). He also landed fifth in MVP voting. O’Neill’s outstanding production earned him a four-year $19 million contract. On April 2, 1995, the players’ strike ended, and the games resumed on April 25.
Paul O’Neill: The Warrior: World Series Runs
After winning a World Series ring with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990, O’Neill went on to win four of five World Series appearances from 1996 to 1998 to 2000 (2001). In 1996, the Yankees trailed the defending World Series Champion Atlanta Braves 2-0 but came back to win the Series in six games. It was the Yankees first World Series championship since 1978. After losing the ALDS three games to two in 1997 to the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees won an MLB record 114 regular-season games. After sweeping the Texas Rangers in the ALDS and eliminating the Indians in the ALCS, the Yankees, under O’Neill’s .280 batting average, swept the San Diego Padres in 1998 to win their second title in three years.
1999 saw a rematch of the 1996 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Yankees; this time, the Yankees swept the Braves 4-0. It was a bittersweet year for O’Neill, as hours after the game three win, his father passed away due to lung and kidney failure.
In 2000, the Yankees participated in their third straight World Series against the New York Mets. O’Neill hit .474 with two doubles and two triples in the World Series. The Yankees defeated the Mets 4-2, marking their first “Subway Series” matchup in 44 years. In 2001, the Yankees had defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in what would be O’Neill’s final year in pinstripes. With the Yankees up 3-2 in the series, the Yankees lost games 6 and 7 to lose a crusher 4 games to 3 to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Accolades
- 5x All-Star (1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998)
- 5x World Series Champion (1990, 1996, 1998-2000)
- AL Batting Champion (1994)
- 2x Top Ten in Position Player in WAR (1994, 1998)
- 3x Top Ten in OBP in AL (1994, 1996, 1997)
- New York Yankees No. 21 Retired
- Yankee Stadium Monument Park Honoree
After that season, O’Neill retired from baseball and now works as an analyst/color commentator for the New York Yankees YES Network. He brings all his knowledge and expertise to enhance the baseball experience.
