Yankee 21
11-09-2001, 08:12 PM
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News
11/6/2001 8:00 pm ET
Paulie packs his pinstripes
O'Neill makes final exit out of Yankees clubhouse
By Mark Feinsand
Yankees.com
NEW YORK -- When you have played baseball for 16 years, there isn't much in the game you haven't had the chance to experience. Tuesday, Paul O'Neill had a first: he cleaned out his locker at Yankee Stadium.
"It's strange because I've never cleaned out my locker before," O'Neill said. "I usually just leave, so this is different."
O'Neill, who officially announced his retirement after Game 7 of the World Series, received help from Aaron, his eight-year-old son, as he packed up his Yankee gear, his drumsticks and nine years' worth of memories in cardboard boxes.
"It's exciting," said the 38-year-old O'Neill. "This is what I have to look forward to. This little guy, his brother and his sister. I looked at the ballpark a little today, I noticed some things that you don't see walking in every day. Just looking through the tunnel, seeing the green grass. Those are the things I'll miss."
Over his brilliant career, O'Neill made five All-Star teams, won five World Series rings and the 1994 batting title with a .359 average in the strike-shortened season. He was the heart and soul of the Yankees, leading them by example at all times.
"When I first got here, I was told by a couple of different people how selfish he was," said Joe Torre, his manager since 1996. "Then I realized that the only thing selfish about him was that he wanted to get a hit every time he got up. He never gave an at-bat away. He never gave up."
"He's meant a lot to me," said Tino Martinez. "Coming to work every day with him, watching him prepare every day, from day one I didn't know him at all. But his focus on each game, on every at-bat, it really set the tone for this team as far as focus and intensity day-in and day-out. I feel we're the same intense types of players, though I don't show my emotions outwardly like he does, but we both want to win. I want to win every day, and when you have guys like that with you, it makes it easier."
O'Neill acknowledges that he will miss being a part of baseball, but 20 years away from his family was more than enough for him. He said after Sunday's Game 7 loss that he is looking forward to his first July 4th picnic, his first Memorial Day weekend with his family. On Tuesday, with his son at his side, he didn't seem to regret his decision one bit.
"It's a decision I made. When you make a decision, it's not sad," O'Neill said. "It's sad the things you'll miss, the good people and the games you play. But I'm looking forward to being in a place every day instead of waking up in hotel rooms.
"I'm from the Midwest, where family is everything," added O'Neill. "To think of not playing next year, being in Cincinnati next summer watching my kids play in the front yard, I won't feel as if I'm missing something. That's just the way it's supposed to be."
Though O'Neill dodged the topic of retirement throughout the season, he knew it was his final season all along. Sure, there were moments when he thought about giving it one more year, but those were nothing more than fleeting thoughts.
"I knew coming into the season that this was my last year, but I didn't want to talk about it," O'Neill said. "My wife knew, my kids knew. There were days that I sat out there and thought that I could keep doing this. One day early in the season, I hit a big home run against Boston and the fans were going wild. I thought, 'Man, it's going to be weird not hearing this anymore.'"
Life after baseball won't really kick in until after New Year's, when O'Neill will realize that he doesn't have to begin his preparation for another Spring Training. Until then, there will be just small changes that will become noticeable to him as they arrive.
"I didn't work out this morning," said O'Neill with a grin. "Usually, the day after the season ends you start working out for next year, so some things are a little different. Nothing will be different until the holidays, when you usually start getting ready for next season. That's when it will sink in for me, that there is no next season."
Though O'Neill and his family are moving back to Cincinnati, he said that part of him will always feel like a New Yorker -- something he never thought possible when he was traded to the Yankees nine years ago.
"As a visiting player in New York, it's so different -- it's not a pretty picture," O'Neill said. "When you live here, become part of a community and win like we have, it's great. When I was traded, my dad told me that it would be the best thing that would ever happen to me. I just thought that's what dads are supposed to say when something terrible happens. Now that I look back, he knew what he was talking about.
"A big part of our life has been in New York," added O'Neill. "We've had children here, won World Series, I lost my father while I was in New York. There are things the rest of my life that I will carry with me that are New York. I came here nine years ago not knowing where the Empire State Building was, now I go into the city and I go to restaurants where I know people. I look back at this as the best nine or 10 years of my life."
O'Neill said that should he decide to return to the baseball world in any capacity, he would only do it as a member of the Yankees organization. He said that the Cincinnati Reds had already called his agent, though he wasn't sure what they were calling about.
His agent informed him that he was going to file O'Neill for free agency, as is the custom for players ending their careers. O'Neill gave his agent the go-ahead, but made it clear on Tuesday that he is retiring a Yankee.
"I said, 'For what? I want to retire knowing I retired as a Yankee,'" O'Neill said. "So when you see my name filed as a free agent, it doesn't mean anything. I didn't understand it, but I guess it's something people do."
Through all of the championships and honors, O'Neill said that two of his lasting memories will come from his final three games. One will obviously be Game 7, but Game 5 may stand out as the most memorable, when 55,000 fans chanted his name in the top of the ninth as the Yankees trailed Arizona.
"It was pretty overwhelming, I didn't know what to do or say," O'Neill said. "I was out in the middle of a field, we were losing, and I knew that the eight other guys out there didn't care about whose night it was. They just wanted to win the game, and I felt the same way, but I was trying to think about what was the right thing to do."
"He didn't allow himself to think about it at the time, but I think that night's going to be very vivid for him," Torre said. "What really impressed me about what the fans did was that we were losing. New York doesn't have much patience for losing, but they took their time to appreciate Paul."
The Yankees, thanks to Scott Brosius and Alfonso Soriano, won O'Neill's final game at Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, New York wasn't able to finish the D-Backs off, losing Game 7.
"If we had played Game 6 on Game 7, getting beat 15-2, it would have been easier to swallow. But when you have the best pitcher in the world on the mound with three outs to go, and somehow they flare a few balls to beat you, it's disappointing. It's sinking in more and more that we were that close to winning another World Series. You never know how many times -- well, I know how many times -- you're going to play in the World Series. You can't take it for granted."
O'Neill used to stand in the kitchen in the offseason, practicing his batting stance and swing as his family ate breakfast. According to him, those days are over.
"If you're not preparing for it, you don't torture yourself with it," O'Neill said. "The only thing I'll be doing in the kitchen now is flipping pancakes in the morning."
Now, with five rings and countless memories, O'Neill rides off into the sunset, leaving a big void where his locker still stands in the back of the Yankee clubhouse.
"I think he made other people better players, because of how he played and how important it was for him to win. That's something a lot of guys here learned about Paul O'Neill," Torre said. "I don't think chemistry creates winning as much as winning creates chemistry. I think you realize that things have to change. Paul O'Neill's leaving is a big hole to fill. Maybe not statistically, but what he gave everybody."
O'Neill knows that he will miss baseball. He knows that the void will have to be filled somehow. Most importantly, he's ready to move forward to the next chapter of his life.
"There will be a ton of things I miss," O'Neill said. "When you spend your whole life doing something, I'm sure there will be little things that I don't think about now that I will miss. Just being labeled part of the Yankees, I'll miss that. When people come up to you and say 'You're on the Yankees' -- that's one thing I'll miss the most."
Don't fret, Paul. You will always be a Yankee. Forever.
Yankee StadiumMinor LeaguesHistoryKidsFan ForumFantasy
News
11/6/2001 8:00 pm ET
Paulie packs his pinstripes
O'Neill makes final exit out of Yankees clubhouse
By Mark Feinsand
Yankees.com
NEW YORK -- When you have played baseball for 16 years, there isn't much in the game you haven't had the chance to experience. Tuesday, Paul O'Neill had a first: he cleaned out his locker at Yankee Stadium.
"It's strange because I've never cleaned out my locker before," O'Neill said. "I usually just leave, so this is different."
O'Neill, who officially announced his retirement after Game 7 of the World Series, received help from Aaron, his eight-year-old son, as he packed up his Yankee gear, his drumsticks and nine years' worth of memories in cardboard boxes.
"It's exciting," said the 38-year-old O'Neill. "This is what I have to look forward to. This little guy, his brother and his sister. I looked at the ballpark a little today, I noticed some things that you don't see walking in every day. Just looking through the tunnel, seeing the green grass. Those are the things I'll miss."
Over his brilliant career, O'Neill made five All-Star teams, won five World Series rings and the 1994 batting title with a .359 average in the strike-shortened season. He was the heart and soul of the Yankees, leading them by example at all times.
"When I first got here, I was told by a couple of different people how selfish he was," said Joe Torre, his manager since 1996. "Then I realized that the only thing selfish about him was that he wanted to get a hit every time he got up. He never gave an at-bat away. He never gave up."
"He's meant a lot to me," said Tino Martinez. "Coming to work every day with him, watching him prepare every day, from day one I didn't know him at all. But his focus on each game, on every at-bat, it really set the tone for this team as far as focus and intensity day-in and day-out. I feel we're the same intense types of players, though I don't show my emotions outwardly like he does, but we both want to win. I want to win every day, and when you have guys like that with you, it makes it easier."
O'Neill acknowledges that he will miss being a part of baseball, but 20 years away from his family was more than enough for him. He said after Sunday's Game 7 loss that he is looking forward to his first July 4th picnic, his first Memorial Day weekend with his family. On Tuesday, with his son at his side, he didn't seem to regret his decision one bit.
"It's a decision I made. When you make a decision, it's not sad," O'Neill said. "It's sad the things you'll miss, the good people and the games you play. But I'm looking forward to being in a place every day instead of waking up in hotel rooms.
"I'm from the Midwest, where family is everything," added O'Neill. "To think of not playing next year, being in Cincinnati next summer watching my kids play in the front yard, I won't feel as if I'm missing something. That's just the way it's supposed to be."
Though O'Neill dodged the topic of retirement throughout the season, he knew it was his final season all along. Sure, there were moments when he thought about giving it one more year, but those were nothing more than fleeting thoughts.
"I knew coming into the season that this was my last year, but I didn't want to talk about it," O'Neill said. "My wife knew, my kids knew. There were days that I sat out there and thought that I could keep doing this. One day early in the season, I hit a big home run against Boston and the fans were going wild. I thought, 'Man, it's going to be weird not hearing this anymore.'"
Life after baseball won't really kick in until after New Year's, when O'Neill will realize that he doesn't have to begin his preparation for another Spring Training. Until then, there will be just small changes that will become noticeable to him as they arrive.
"I didn't work out this morning," said O'Neill with a grin. "Usually, the day after the season ends you start working out for next year, so some things are a little different. Nothing will be different until the holidays, when you usually start getting ready for next season. That's when it will sink in for me, that there is no next season."
Though O'Neill and his family are moving back to Cincinnati, he said that part of him will always feel like a New Yorker -- something he never thought possible when he was traded to the Yankees nine years ago.
"As a visiting player in New York, it's so different -- it's not a pretty picture," O'Neill said. "When you live here, become part of a community and win like we have, it's great. When I was traded, my dad told me that it would be the best thing that would ever happen to me. I just thought that's what dads are supposed to say when something terrible happens. Now that I look back, he knew what he was talking about.
"A big part of our life has been in New York," added O'Neill. "We've had children here, won World Series, I lost my father while I was in New York. There are things the rest of my life that I will carry with me that are New York. I came here nine years ago not knowing where the Empire State Building was, now I go into the city and I go to restaurants where I know people. I look back at this as the best nine or 10 years of my life."
O'Neill said that should he decide to return to the baseball world in any capacity, he would only do it as a member of the Yankees organization. He said that the Cincinnati Reds had already called his agent, though he wasn't sure what they were calling about.
His agent informed him that he was going to file O'Neill for free agency, as is the custom for players ending their careers. O'Neill gave his agent the go-ahead, but made it clear on Tuesday that he is retiring a Yankee.
"I said, 'For what? I want to retire knowing I retired as a Yankee,'" O'Neill said. "So when you see my name filed as a free agent, it doesn't mean anything. I didn't understand it, but I guess it's something people do."
Through all of the championships and honors, O'Neill said that two of his lasting memories will come from his final three games. One will obviously be Game 7, but Game 5 may stand out as the most memorable, when 55,000 fans chanted his name in the top of the ninth as the Yankees trailed Arizona.
"It was pretty overwhelming, I didn't know what to do or say," O'Neill said. "I was out in the middle of a field, we were losing, and I knew that the eight other guys out there didn't care about whose night it was. They just wanted to win the game, and I felt the same way, but I was trying to think about what was the right thing to do."
"He didn't allow himself to think about it at the time, but I think that night's going to be very vivid for him," Torre said. "What really impressed me about what the fans did was that we were losing. New York doesn't have much patience for losing, but they took their time to appreciate Paul."
The Yankees, thanks to Scott Brosius and Alfonso Soriano, won O'Neill's final game at Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, New York wasn't able to finish the D-Backs off, losing Game 7.
"If we had played Game 6 on Game 7, getting beat 15-2, it would have been easier to swallow. But when you have the best pitcher in the world on the mound with three outs to go, and somehow they flare a few balls to beat you, it's disappointing. It's sinking in more and more that we were that close to winning another World Series. You never know how many times -- well, I know how many times -- you're going to play in the World Series. You can't take it for granted."
O'Neill used to stand in the kitchen in the offseason, practicing his batting stance and swing as his family ate breakfast. According to him, those days are over.
"If you're not preparing for it, you don't torture yourself with it," O'Neill said. "The only thing I'll be doing in the kitchen now is flipping pancakes in the morning."
Now, with five rings and countless memories, O'Neill rides off into the sunset, leaving a big void where his locker still stands in the back of the Yankee clubhouse.
"I think he made other people better players, because of how he played and how important it was for him to win. That's something a lot of guys here learned about Paul O'Neill," Torre said. "I don't think chemistry creates winning as much as winning creates chemistry. I think you realize that things have to change. Paul O'Neill's leaving is a big hole to fill. Maybe not statistically, but what he gave everybody."
O'Neill knows that he will miss baseball. He knows that the void will have to be filled somehow. Most importantly, he's ready to move forward to the next chapter of his life.
"There will be a ton of things I miss," O'Neill said. "When you spend your whole life doing something, I'm sure there will be little things that I don't think about now that I will miss. Just being labeled part of the Yankees, I'll miss that. When people come up to you and say 'You're on the Yankees' -- that's one thing I'll miss the most."
Don't fret, Paul. You will always be a Yankee. Forever.