Paul O'Neill (baseball player)

Paul O'Neill

O'Neill at Yankee Stadium, 2011.

Right fielder

Born: February 25, 1963 (age 53)
Columbus, Ohio

Batted: Left

Threw: Left

MLB debut

September 3, 1985, for the Cincinnati Reds

Last MLB appearance

October 7, 2001, for the New York Yankees

MLB statistics

Batting average

.288

Home runs

281

Runs batted in

1,269

Teams

Cincinnati Reds (1985–1992)
New York Yankees (1993–2001)

Career highlights and awards

5× All-Star (1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998)
5× World Series champion (1990, 1996, 1998–2000)
AL batting champion (1994)

Paul Andrew O'Neill (born February 25, 1963) is a retired right fielder and Major League Baseball player who won five World Series while playing for the Cincinnati Reds (1985–1992) and New York Yankees (1993–2001). In a 17-year career, O'Neill compiled 281 home runs, 1,269 runs batted in, 2,107 hits, and a lifetime batting average of .288. O'Neill won the American League batting title in 1994 with a .359 average and was a five-time All-Star in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998.

O'Neill is the only player to have played on the winning team in three perfect games. He was in right field for the Reds for Tom Browning's perfect game in 1988. He caught the final out (a fly ball) in the Yankees' David Wells' perfect game in 1998, and he made a diving catch in right field and doubled to help the Yankees win David Cone's perfect game in 1999.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, O'Neill attended Brookhaven High School. O'Neill and his family were fans of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball. On a visit to the Reds' Crosley Field shortly before it closed, six-year-old Paul had his picture taken wearing a Reds batting helmet and holding a toy bat. Over his shoulder could be seen Roberto Clemente of the opposing Pittsburgh Pirates. Like Clemente, O'Neill would become a right fielder and wear uniform number 21. His older sister is Molly O'Neill, a noted chef and cookbook author who was a food writer for The New York Times in 2000. He was also an outstanding high school basketball player earning all-state honors in his senior year 1981 and Central District Player of the Year.

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