On Saturday August 9, 2014, the New York Yankees honored Paul O'Neill with his own spot in Monument Park, nestled among the legends of the franchise. While O'Neill was certainly a very good major league player (a five-time All-Star and 1994 batting champion), I question the motives behind the Yankees' decision to place him among the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth.
Nobody in baseball would ever place O'Neill in the above class (he earned only 2.2% of the vote in his one year on the Hall of Fame ballot), and as I said earlier this year when the Yankees inducted Tino Martinez into Monument Park, their motives for induction are based more on finances than what they did on the field.
Just as the Hall of Fame's empty 2013 ceremony displayed, there is little money in honoring the deceased. Knowing that fans would not pack the stadium to see a posthumous induction in 2014, the Yankees have decided to further expand the confines of Monument Park to include the "very good."
If both Martinez and O'Neill are honored for their tenure with the Yankees, then how long will it be before Bill "Moose" Skowron, owner of four World Series rings with the club, gets the call? Take a look below for a comparison of O'Neill and Skorown's stats.
Paul O'Neill
Bill Skowron
Nobody in baseball would ever place O'Neill in the above class (he earned only 2.2% of the vote in his one year on the Hall of Fame ballot), and as I said earlier this year when the Yankees inducted Tino Martinez into Monument Park, their motives for induction are based more on finances than what they did on the field.
Just as the Hall of Fame's empty 2013 ceremony displayed, there is little money in honoring the deceased. Knowing that fans would not pack the stadium to see a posthumous induction in 2014, the Yankees have decided to further expand the confines of Monument Park to include the "very good."
Paul O'Neill
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 30 | NYY | AL | 141 | 547 | 498 | 71 | 155 | 34 | 1 | 20 | 75 | 2 | 4 | 44 | 69 | .311 | .367 | .504 | .871 | 136 | 251 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | *97/D | |
| 1994 ★ | 31 | NYY | AL | 103 | 443 | 368 | 68 | 132 | 25 | 1 | 21 | 83 | 5 | 4 | 72 | 56 | .359 | .460 | .603 | 1.064 | 177 | 222 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | *97/D | AS,MVP-5 |
| 1995 ★ | 32 | NYY | AL | 127 | 543 | 460 | 82 | 138 | 30 | 4 | 22 | 96 | 1 | 2 | 71 | 76 | .300 | .387 | .526 | .913 | 137 | 242 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 8 | *97/D | AS,MVP-15 |
| 1996 | 33 | NYY | AL | 150 | 660 | 546 | 89 | 165 | 35 | 1 | 19 | 91 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 76 | .302 | .411 | .474 | .885 | 123 | 259 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 8 | *9/D3 | |
| 1997 ★ | 34 | NYY | AL | 149 | 637 | 553 | 89 | 179 | 42 | 0 | 21 | 117 | 10 | 7 | 75 | 92 | .324 | .399 | .514 | .912 | 137 | 284 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | *9/3D | AS,MVP-12 |
| 1998 ★ | 35 | NYY | AL | 152 | 672 | 602 | 95 | 191 | 40 | 2 | 24 | 116 | 15 | 1 | 57 | 103 | .317 | .372 | .510 | .882 | 130 | 307 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 2 | *9/D | AS,MVP-12 |
| 1999 | 36 | NYY | AL | 153 | 675 | 597 | 70 | 170 | 39 | 4 | 19 | 110 | 11 | 9 | 66 | 89 | .285 | .353 | .459 | .812 | 107 | 274 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | *9 | |
| 2000 | 37 | NYY | AL | 142 | 628 | 566 | 79 | 160 | 26 | 0 | 18 | 100 | 14 | 9 | 51 | 90 | .283 | .336 | .424 | .760 | 92 | 240 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | *9/D | |
| 2001 | 38 | NYY | AL | 137 | 563 | 510 | 77 | 136 | 33 | 1 | 21 | 70 | 22 | 3 | 48 | 59 | .267 | .330 | .459 | .789 | 105 | 234 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | *9/D | |
| G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||||||
| NYY (9 yrs) | 1254 | 5368 | 4700 | 720 | 1426 | 304 | 14 | 185 | 858 | 80 | 40 | 586 | 710 | .303 | .377 | .492 | .869 | 125 | 2313 | 174 | 13 | 0 | 69 | 51 | |||||
Bill Skowron
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 23 | NYY | AL | 87 | 237 | 215 | 37 | 73 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 18 | .340 | .392 | .577 | .969 | 167 | 124 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3/54 | ||
| 1955 | 24 | NYY | AL | 108 | 314 | 288 | 46 | 92 | 17 | 3 | 12 | 61 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 32 | .319 | .369 | .524 | .894 | 140 | 151 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3/5 | |
| 1956 | 25 | NYY | AL | 134 | 523 | 464 | 78 | 143 | 21 | 6 | 23 | 90 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 60 | .308 | .382 | .528 | .910 | 142 | 245 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | *3/5 | |
| 1957 ★ | 26 | NYY | AL | 122 | 501 | 457 | 54 | 139 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 88 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 60 | .304 | .347 | .470 | .818 | 123 | 215 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | *3 | AS,MVP-22 |
| 1958 ★ | 27 | NYY | AL | 126 | 502 | 465 | 61 | 127 | 22 | 3 | 14 | 73 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 69 | .273 | .317 | .424 | .740 | 106 | 197 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | *3/5 | AS |
| 1959 ★ | 28 | NYY | AL | 74 | 309 | 282 | 39 | 84 | 13 | 5 | 15 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 47 | .298 | .349 | .539 | .888 | 145 | 152 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | AS |
| 1960 ★ | 29 | NYY | AL | 146 | 584 | 538 | 63 | 166 | 34 | 3 | 26 | 91 | 2 | 3 | 38 | 95 | .309 | .353 | .528 | .881 | 141 | 284 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | *3 | AS,MVP-9 |
| 1961 ★ | 30 | NYY | AL | 150 | 608 | 561 | 77 | 150 | 23 | 4 | 28 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 108 | .267 | .318 | .472 | .790 | 113 | 265 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 9 | *3 | AS |
| 1962 | 31 | NYY | AL | 140 | 524 | 478 | 63 | 129 | 16 | 6 | 23 | 80 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 99 | .270 | .325 | .473 | .798 | 114 | 226 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | *3 | |
| NYY (9 yrs) | 1087 | 4102 | 3748 | 518 | 1103 | 173 | 44 | 165 | 672 | 14 | 13 | 278 | 588 | .294 | .346 | .496 | .842 | 129 | 1859 | 129 | 35 | 9 | 32 | 29 | |||||