Forgotten Seasons
and sports team owners know, the American public's memory is shorter than that of a tadpole and most baseball fans have forgotten about it, but 1994 was a season in which Paul O'Neill had an outstanding year that fans rarely recall.
O'Neill was traded from the Reds to the Yankees on November 2, 1992 for Roberto Kelly. O'Neill was described as an explosive left handed hitter, which at the time might have been a slight exaggeration since O'Neill had a lifetime .259 batting average with a modest 96 home runs in a little over five seasons, for an average of about 20 home runs a season, but once O'Neill became a Yankee, he did become an explosive hitter. He was already an explosive personality once the game started.
Upon being told he was traded to the Yankees, O'Neill said, "You come to spring training with your cleats and glove and you do what you are told. Hopefully they have big plans for me. I want to go out and put up big numbers." He did just that.
In 1993, Paul O'Neill hit his 20 home runs, batted .311 and had a .504 slugging average, which was just a preview of coming attractions. The following season, he won the batting title for the shortened season, hitting .359 with 21 home runs, a .603 slugging average, and significantly, walking 72 times while striking out 56 times.
Paul O'Neill went on to have some outstanding seasons with the Yankees and helped them become World Champions four times. His catch against the Braves' Luis Polonia in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series was typical Paul O'Neill. It saved the game, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead in games in a Series they won two days later. O'Neill had a bad leg that hindered him as he ran to track down Polonia's blast but he simply said that he knew he had to make the catch so he did.
References:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bell...
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballl...
http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/tros...
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballl...
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballl...
http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/o'ne...
Curry, Jack (1992). "Yankees trade roberto kelly to reds for o'neill." The New York Times, November 4, 1992. p.B21.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/holm...
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballl...
http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mays...
http://www.baseballparks.com/BallparkCha...
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballl...
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