About Me
New York was rough on Paul O'Neill at first. The Yankees were lousy and his car was stolen. Twice. But O'Neill made his Bronx debut in April 1993 and before long the Yanks were champs once again. O'Neill's tenacious will to win and his secret soft side will forever be remembered. He was an intricate part of New York's resurgance in the mid nineties.
The following are some career hightlights:
· Six World Series appearances, five World Series rings.
· Winning twenty-three of the thirty World Series games he has appeared in. Do you think any other player has won a World Series in both leagues and swept in both? Do you think any other player in MLB history has played in three World Series sweeps?
· Five All-Star appearences
· American League Batting Title 1994 - .359 average.
· Shares record for for most games in a season with four or more extra base hits (2): May 11 and September 13, 1991
· From 7/23/95- 5/7/97 Paul played 235 games without making an error.
· Led American League in hitting with men on base 1997 - .429.
· Relentlessly gunning guys out over the years with an arm designed like a Howitzer for the battlefield.
· 15 of 17 steal attempts in 1998. Who says 6'4" guys can't steal?
· The only player in Major League Baseball history to play on the winning side of three perfect games (Browning, Wells and Cone).
· August 25, 2001 - Paul becomes the oldest major leaguer to steal twenty bases and hit twenty homeruns in the same season.
· As a full time, non-designated hitter Paul was on the winning side of 16 of 19 post-season series.
· Paul is the first Yankee since Mickey Mantle from 1952-62 to hit at least 18 homeruns in nine consecutive seasons.
· Paul batted .474 in the 2000 Subway Series, tying a five-game record with nine hits.
· Had 24 hits and 16 walks in 27 World Series games.
· Led Reds in HRs, RBI, doubles and walks in 1991.
O'Neill's exit had Hall of Fame grace. Top of the ninth, World Series Game Five, his last scheduled appearance in right field at Yankee Stadium: He paces, head down and teary-eyed, as 56,018 chant "Paul O-nee-ulll!" over and over, a verbal wave. "I wanted to acknowledge the fans, but we were losing at the time," O'Neill says in the clubhouse afterward. "To have people recognize you like that, for something you love doing . . ." He notices an efficient clubhouse boy picking up his jersey and heading for the laundry. "Hey," O'Neill says, "I'll take care of that." He clutches his pinstriped No. 21, turning it over in his hands. "I should have slid tonight. Baseball uniforms look better dirty." A classicist to the end.
But don't make a bad call on me. I'll smash a Gatorade bottle over your mom's head!
