The New York Yankees announced they will retire Paul O’Neill’s number 21 in a ceremony on Sunday August 21, 2022. This way, they are honoring one of their top outfielders of the late nineties dynasty.
O’Neill’s number 21 will finally enter Monument Park, and he is fully deserving of the honor after playing more than half of his career in the Bronx, since 1993 until 2001. He retired after the World Series loss that year with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and finished his MLB tenure with a .288/.363/.470 slash line, a 120 wRC+, 281 home runs, and 1,269 RBI. He won four World Series with the Yankees and one with the Cincinnati Reds.
8.21.22
Paul O’Neill’s No. 21 enters Monument Park. pic.twitter.com/6ewcbEDPKj
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 22, 2022
Per NJ Advance Media, all guests in attendance that day will get a commemorative “Paul O’Neill Day” game ticket.
23 Yankees have had their numbers retired
The Yankees made O’Neill the 23rd player or manager to have his number retired, the first one since Derek Jeter in 2017. Some of O’Neill’s former teammates such as Jeter, Jorge Posada, Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Don Mattingly, Bernie Williams, and Andy Pettite have received the honor.
O’Neil received a plaque in Monument Park in 2014, but his number was in limbo for a long time.
Currently working as a game analyst for the YES Network, he was a true difference-maker with the Yankees: he had a .303 batting average, 304 doubles, 185 dingers, 858 RBI, a .377 on-base percentage and an .869 OPS with them. He was a four-time All-Star and the 1994 batting champion.
These Yankees have had his number retired:
1 Billy Martin August 10th, 1986
2 Derek Jeter May 14, 2017
3 Babe Ruth June 13th, 1948
4 Lou Gehrig July 4th, 1939
5 Joe DiMaggio April 18th, 1952
6 Joe Torre August 23, 2014
7 Mickey Mantle June 8th, 1969
8 Yogi Berra July 22nd, 1972
8 Bill Dickey July 22nd, 1972
9 Roger Maris July 22nd, 1984
10 Phil Rizzuto August 4th, 1985
15 Thurman Munson September 20th, 1980
16 Whitey Ford August 3rd, 1974
20 Jorge Posada August 22nd, 2015
21 Paul O’Neill August 21, 2022
23 Don Mattingly August 31st, 1997
32 Elston Howard July 22nd, 1984
37 Casey Stengel August 8th, 1970
42 Mariano Rivera September 22, 2013
44 Reggie Jackson August 14th, 1993
46 Andy Pettitte August 23rd, 2015
49 Ron Guidry August 23rd, 2003
51 Bernie Williams May 24th, 2015