Have you visited our store? Click here.New York fan favorite, Paul O’Neill, celebrates a milestone with the Yankees as they retire his number, 21, and add it to the wall over the left field bleachers along with greats like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Mariano Rivera.1 This isn’t the first time the Yankees have celebrated O’Neill. In 2014, the Yankees honored O’Neill with a plaque in Monument Park.2
Nicknamed, The Warrior, for his work ethic, O’Neill appeared in 5 World Series’ and won titles with 4 of them. The Yankees acquired O’Neill from the Reds in 1993 and he went on to win the Batting Title the following year and achieve All-Star acknowledgements 4 more times for a total of 5 All-Star appearances.3 O’Neill’s 17-year career concluded in fall of 2001.
Guests in attendance during the ceremony included: Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and former athletic trainer Gene Monahan. Video messages were played from: David Cone, Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, and Roberto Clemente Jr.4
To view the current eBay auctions for Paul O’Neill baseball cards, click here.
O’Neill has come a long way and continues to contribute to the game. Currently, O’Neill is a Game Analyst for the YES Network.
References:
- Yankees retire Paul O’Neill’s No. 21, celebrate with members of 90s dynasty. www.nydailynews.com ↩︎
- Yankees honor Paul O’Neill. www.espn.com ↩︎
- Paul O’Neill. www.baseball-reference.com ↩︎
- ‘This is the biggest dream’: Yankees retire O’Neill’s No. 21. www.mlb.com ↩︎
