Nickname: "Warrior."
Rightfielder for the New York Yankees in 2001, his last season in the major leagues. At 6'4" and 215 pounds, he shows admirable baserunning speed, and at age 38 became the oldest player in history to steal 20 bases and hit 20 home runs.
Hitting: O'Neill has been a dependable though not spectacular bat in the Yankee lineup. The American League batting champion in 1994 (when he hit .359 and slugged .603), he has hit below .300 the past three seasons.
2001 Batting Statistics
- Games: 137
- At Bats: 510
- Runs: 77
- Hits: 136
- 2B (doubles): 33
- 3B (triples): 1
- Home Runs: 21
- Runs Batted In: 70
- Base on Balls: 48
- Strike Outs: 59
- Stolen Bases: 22
- Caught Stealing: 3
- On Base Percentage: .330
- SLG (slugging percentage): .459
- AVG (batting average): .267
Lifetime Batting Statistics
- Games: 2053
- At Bats: 7318
- Runs: 1039
- Hits: 2105
- 2B (doubles): 451
- 3B (triples): 21
- Home Runs: 281
- Runs Batted In: 1269
- Base on Balls: 892
- Strike Outs: 1166
- Stolen Bases: 141
- Caught Stealing: 73
- On Base Percentage: .363
- SLG (slugging percentage): .470
- AVG (batting average): .288
Fielding: An extremely reliable fielder, O'Neill has made 48 errors in his career, for a .988 fielding percentage overall.
In a salute to their departing number 21, in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series (the last game O'Neill would play in Yankee Stadium) the fans held signs proclaiming "Paulie, Don't Leave Us" and "We Love You #21, Warrior", chanted "Paul-O-Nei-ill! *clap* *clap* *clapclapclap*" for most of the last two innings, despite the fact that the Yankees were down by two runs and looked almost certain to lose the game to the Arizona Diamondbacks. (In fact, Scott Brosius launched a two out, bottom of the ninth home run to start an extra inning rally that put the Yankees on top and finished a homestand three-game sweep.)
Credited by many, among them Yankee coach Joe Torre, with sparking the Yankee resurgence and being the backbone of the great teams from 1996 to 2001, O'Neill will never be inducted into Cooperstown, but the affection that the Yankees ballclub and the city of New York have for him will likely get his number retired and a plaque in Monument Park, outside the House that Ruth built.