Who is Paul O’Neill?

Paul O’Neill‘s No. 21 will be retired by the New York Yankees on August 21, the MLB franchise announced on Tuesday.   

“Paul O’Neill’s No. 21 enters Monument Park,” Yankees tweeted, along with the picture of ‘The Warror’, as he is called by fans. 

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The retirement will make Paul O’Neill the 23rd player or manager whose number was retired by the New York Yankees. He is 58 years old. 

Other Yankees with retired numbers include No. 1 (Billy Martin, 1986), No 2 (Derek Jeter, 2017), No 3 (Babe Ruth, 1948) and No. 4 (Lou Gehrig, 1939). Bernie Williams’ No 51 was the last addition to the elite list. 

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Who is Paul O’Neill?

Paul O’Neill, a former baseball right fielder, played 17 seasons in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees. He compiled 281 home runs, 1,269 runs batted in, 2,107 hits, and a lifetime batting average of .288.

O’Neill played in 235 consecutive games without making an error from July 1995 to May 1997. He was the first 38-year-old in Major League history to steal 20 bases and hit 20 home runs in the same season. 

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The 58-year-old is the only player to have played on the winning team in three perfect games. Before retiring in 2001, O’Neill had won four World Series titles with the Yankees. 

A plaque for O’Neill in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park was dedicated on August 9, 2014.

After retiring, he joined Yankees’ YES Network and is among the broadcast analysts. 

Nicknamed “The Warrior” by the late owner George Steinbrenner, O’Neill hit .303 with 185 homers and 858 RBIs for the Yankees from 1993-2001. He was a four-time All-Star with the Yankees and won the 1994 AL batting title during a strike-shortened season.