As the calendar turns to 2010 and Spring Training approaches, the Yankees are entering their 9th year since the retirement of RF Paul O’Neill. Since his retirement, only one person has worn his number, LaTroy Hawkins. However, only a few weeks into the 2008 season did LaTroy switch his number to 22 because Yankees fans still viewed the number sacred in Yankees history, thus causing problems for LaTroy. It got so bad at one point that at homestands when LaTroy would pitch, fans would chant O’Neill’s name. Since LaTroy switched teams, no one else has worn 21 which begs the question, should the number retired?
Most Yankees fans will answer a resounding yes and I am one of those fans that believe so as well. However, there are those people who believe that he didn’t do enough to deserve to have his number retired.
Looking at the retired numbers, there is a player on the list that O’Neill compares to in regards to numbers, for the most part. That person is Reggie Jackson. Their numbers to compare are listed below.
Paul O’Neill
| Years | G | H | HR | RBI | BA | OPS |
| 1993-01 | 1254 | 1426 | 184 | 858 | .303 | .869 |
Reggie Jackson
| Years | G | H | HR | RBI | BA | OPS |
| 1977-81 | 653 | 661 | 144 | 461 | .281 | .897 |
The first thing one notices when looking at these numbers is that O’Neill has played many more games than Reggie which doesn’t help his case. If Reggie played with the Yankees as long as O’Neill had, its arguable that Reggie would have doubled the numbers you see above.
Going even further, during Reggie’s 5 years, he only hit above .300 once, while O’Neill hit .300 and above on 6 of 9 seasons while winning the batting crown in 1994 with an average of .359. However, O’Neill transcends numbers, as Steinbrenner coined him a ‘Warrior’ and no one argued the nickname. It is debatable that while O’Neill was with the team, he was the heart and soul of it. He always demanded perfection from himself and wouldn’t stop until he had it. At times it would make him look selfish, but from everyone that has spoke on the subject O’Neill was far from selfish.
Numbers wise, O’Neill probably shouldn’t have his 21 retired, but I believe that he meant more than those numbers and most Yankees fans will agree. While it is hard for me to put in words, Vince Russo at A Letter A Week has put it perfectly into words what he meant. For all those reasons and many more I think O’Neill’s number should forever join Yankee lore.
The more time goes on without a player wearing 21 makes it hard to decipher whether or not it will be retired or the Yankees don’t want fans to revolt like when LaTroy Hawkins wore it. Considering the fans response to Hawkins wearing 21, without retiring the number, it might be a very long time until it’s worn again. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t hurt anyone and would only provide the proper respect for a true warrior…
M. B. Rozell
Kevin Rozell
I completely agree that his number should be retired. And you’re right, it’s not so much his numbers but the leadership and dedication he showed while wearing the pinstripes. You bring up a good point with Reggie, he really wasn’t that outstanding except for the World Series. So if Reggie is retired, Paulie should be retired, and I think just about all Yankees fans will be happy that it is. His leadership to the ball club at that point of the team was almost next to none. Speaking of leadership, another guy who fits this category is Bernie Williams. I think his number should also be retired, plus he’s in the top ten of all most all Yankee achievement categories. He was an unbelievable player and leader who should definitely get his recognition in monument park as well.
I’m 100 percent for retiring 21, but the biggest problem to me is that there are too many numbers retired. A few of them shouldn’t have been. Steinbrenner went a little crazy there for a while.
I think maybe it’s time for you guys to find another way to honor great players — in another decade or two, you’ll be seeing triple digit numbers. :)
O’Neill was a very good player for the Yankees, but Monument park is for legends. I know very how much Yankees fans love this guy, because I’m one of them…but you open the doors for so many other players.
Paul O’Neill’s number should not be retired. That’s my personal opinion. Reggie Jackson’s number shouldn’t be either.
Zell
Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Casey Stengel…Paul O”Neill?
It’s like this…
Jerry : Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle … Costanza?
It just doesn’t fit.
Zell
Paul O’neill was my favorite Yankee growing up but I can’t see his number being retired. Rob is right, there are already too many retired numbers and we know that Jeter, Mo, maybe Bernie have theirs coming (although 42 is retired around baseball anyways)
Yep, and then there will be arguments for Martinez, Posada, Rodriguez, Pettitte, Teixeira and Sabathia.
People might be arguing over Cano, assuming he stays a Yankee for the rest of his career. Who knows.
Zell
@Kevin, I haven’t been to the NEW Stadium, but isn’t Monument Park separated from the Retired Numbers? I’m not saying give him a Monument, just retire the number.
Maybe Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, O’Neill doesn’t fit, but Martin, Maris, Jackson, Mattingly, Guidry, O’Neill looks perfect to me.
Rob- Yeah, I know what you’re saying..I just don’t think his number should be retired. Monument Park is not seperated from the retired numbers. The monuments are right next to the retired numbers. It’s all in one.
Here’s a pic: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/10/Monument_Park.JPG
Rob A- Any time you need to argue over a player or compare him to others, most of the time they don’t belong. Some would argue that some of these don’t even belong there: Martin, Maris, Jackson, Mattingly and Guidry.
I’m thinking it boils down to a couple of criteria that go beyond fan reaction: first, is the player a HOF caliber guy? In the case of Reggie, yes. Paulie, for as much as we loved him, is not even close. Second, was he a leader on the team for an important period of time? We know O’Neill was. But to discount Reggie’s effect on the franchise basically tells me you weren’t paying attention in the 70′s. He made his name in the post-season? We’re the Yankees, remember – the post-season is what this team is all about! Prior to Reggie, no world championships. And after Reggie? Remember, the team was essentially the same in 82 as in 81, with one major exception: no Reggie. In 81, the Yanks went to the WS. In 82, they finished 15 games out of first and began a 13 year run without sniffing the playoffs. Even GMS admitted later that letting Reggie go was the biggest mistake he ever made as owner.
As for the rest: Billy and Scooter are in the HOF. Maris set the HR record (and in my eyes, still holds it). Gator set the single game record for K’s (it stood for 20 years) and still holds team records for strikeouts, shutouts and winning percentage. Donnie Baseball wasYankee baseball in the ’80s. There really shouldn’t be a debate on them at all.