For 17 years whenever Paul O’Neill stepped up to bat the pitcher knew it was going to be a tough out. O’Neill was smart, tough, and extremely intense. He and long-time YES Network commentator Jack Curry co-authored his memoir, “Swing and a Hit.” The book is quite the journey to read. Once you’ve finished it, it’s really no wonder how he became so consistently great at hitting throughout his career.
The book was published in 2022 and goes for around 36 dollars today, according to https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/paul-oneill/swing-and-a-hit/9781538709610/. I suppose the picture section on page 182 raises the price a bit. It’s 272 pages long and commonly a hardcover book, which I prefer over soft cover books.
The Beginning
Paul O’Neill began as a 21 year old kid on the Cincinnati Reds under manager Pete Rose. He goes through his relationship with Rose in detail. I really liked how the book highlights O’Neill’s discussion of Pete as a manager and the way his decisions affected his career. Of course, famously, Pete Rose was caught in 1989 for betting on baseball games, which led to his permanent ban, which is also mentioned. But the guidance, the development of patience at the plate, led to Paul O’Neill’s success later on.
At chapter 2, I also like the brief section where he talks about the importance of opening day to him. He mostly talks about how the excitement filled him and even mentioned sleeping in his full baseball uniform the day before in his high school days. Soaking up knowledge like this is good for a hopeful ballplayer like me to model in my years to come.
Overall, I enjoyed the beginning of the book a lot. It was easy to want to read the rest of it, and of course, I did.
The Chess Game
My favorite part of the middle was definitely the Randy Johnson chapter. Randy Johnson was a starting pitcher primarily for the Arizona Diamondbacks during his 22 season career. He stood 6’10”, making him one of the most intimidating pitchers of all time. His fastball reached 102 miles per hour regularly, and Paul O’Neill had to be one of his victims, which is mentioned in his book.
The matchup O’Neill talked about against Randy Johnson was riveting. The best part of it is when Johnson deals a nasty pitch, causing an awkward swing and a foul ball. When Paul stepped back into the box and glanced at the pitcher, Randy was smiling.
Of course O’Neill would strike out, but what really captivates me is what that smile really means. In baseball, everybody is great. It comes down to a battle of mental strength, like a chess game, and during that smile, Randy Johnson was a move away from inevitable checkmate. I love that section. It’s a reason why this has been one of the best books I’ve ever read as a ballplayer.
Paul O’Neill’s End
As the candle of Paul O’Neill’s career started to dim, he was faced with struggles. He talks about one event where he was swinging the worst in his life during a practice, and he was actually laughed at by his teammates and coaches.
There weren’t just baseball struggles. Towards the end of the 2001 season, the Yankees were looking strong again, looking for a fourth straight championship. But a national tragedy struck on September 11th, which gave the New York Yankees a new sense of motivation and hope.
Another familiar foe stopped Paul O’Neill and the Yankees once more. The Diamondbacks and Randy Johnson won in dramatic Game 7 walk off fashion.
That was the end of Paul O’Neill, unfortunately. He signs off his book talking about how he always tried to be mild-mannered despite a rowdy persona. My favorite quote that he said was about how during a home run he would always jog around the bases in the most generic way possible.
So Paul O’Neill will always be remembered as an angry, consistent, and great hitter, and his book, “Swing and a Hit” is a must-read to get more on his life as a game changing ballplayer.
