Happy Birthday, Paul O'Neill

 Today is Paul O'Neill's birthday. Growing up, he was the best Yankee to watch. He played hard, never gave up a single at bat and outright refused to lose. Most players today need time off for minor injuries they don't wanna play with...O'Neill had a hamstring which came with a default setting of "nagging" and still authored an amazing career.

He wasn't the team MVP during the dynasty years, but no way the Yankees win those 4 World Series titles from 1996-2000 without #21 in the lineup. However, today I don't want to feature a Yankee year for Paulie, but instead one of his most humorous moments in his career.

July 5, 1989. Reds vs Phillies. Bottom of the 10th. O'Neill bobbles the ball in right field with the winning run racing to third base and slipping a little, but still thinking of scoring, but he holds up. Why? Frustrated at how he bobbled the ball, O'Neill kicks it and it happens to fly right to the cut off man!

In his book "Me and My Dad" O'Neill explained his thinking:

"I bobbled it! I didn't just bobble it-after it slipped from my glove the first time, I bobbled it again and dropped it! The ball rattled around my body, and, in my anguished frustration at having bobbled the play and not once but twice, when it bounced toward my foot, all I could think to do was to kick that ball with all my might
[...]
My baseball career flashed before my eyes. Promising future gone. Obviously we would lose the
game, and it was entirely my fault. Visions of sixteen-hour bus rides clouded my brain. I was going back to the minors for sure. I couldn't believe it. They'd have me back in Nashville, reassigned to Triple-A minors, probably that same night.
[...]

Lady luck shone down on that game in more ways than one. Not only did Steve Jeltz slip, but miraculously, when I kicked that ball-instead of bouncing off into the stands, it went straight at first base."