Paul O’Neill (Francis Specker)
A GOOD REFERENCE: Michael O’Neill, a University of Michigan standout, is a new Yankee, drafted by the same organization his uncle, Paul O’Neill (below), played nine seasons for. (
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There again will be an O’Neill in a Yankees uniform.
No, Paul O’Neil isn’t making a comeback, but his nephew could be on his way to The Bronx sometime in the future.
The Yankees selected University of Michigan outfielder Michael O’Neill with their third-round pick (103rd overall) in yesterday’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
“It’s kind of overwhelming,” said Michael O’Neill, a Columbus, Ohio, native. “You grow up watching them play, it’s your favorite team. It’s an unbelievable opportunity and feeling.”
Unlike his uncle, the 20-year-old O’Neill doesn’t have fits of rage after strikeouts, though there are occasional flare-ups. The two are hard to compare besides the last names. Michael is a 6-foot speedster while Paul was a 6-foot-5 power hitter.
“The only similarity is how competitive we both are,” Michael O’Neill said.
The first Big Ten player selected, the talented outfielder led the Wolverines with a .356 batting average, notching team highs in slugging percentage (.498), on-base percentage (.396), runs scored (46), hits (85), doubles (17), home runs (5) and stolen bases (23).
Michigan coach Erik Bakich has nicknamed the All-Big Ten selection the “Laser Show” because of his habit of hitting line drives.
“He’s a good outfielder, has a good arm, uses his speed,” Paul O’Neill said. “He’s just like every young player: He’ll get much better when he gets in an organization and learns to play the game.”
It’s the second time the Yankees have drafted Michael O’Neill. They also picked him in the 42nd round of the 2010 draft out of Olentangy Liberty High School in Powell, Ohio.
“Now that it’s a reality I’m going to sign, it’s a different perspective,” O’Neill said. “Last time it was an honor to be drafted by them. Now it’s a reality I’m going to be a Yankee.”
O’Neill isn’t worried about any added pressure because he is following his famous uncle, who won four World Series titles in nine years with the Yankees. The expectations others have placed on him are insignificant compared to what he expects of himself.
“I’m my own person, I’m my own player. I’m either going to make it on my own, or I’m not going to make it,” he said. “It will be fun to carry the name through the organization, just like he did.”
* Third baseman Eric Jagielo, taken 26th overall as the first of the Yankees’ three first-round picks, is not only thrilled to be drafted by the organization because of the cachet it has, but also the chance he sees down the line at third base.
Alex Rodriguez may never play again, rookie David Adams isn’t seen as a long-term solution and Dante Bichette Jr., the team’s second-round pick in 2011, is struggling in low Single-A.
“I definitely see an opportunity,” Jagielo, the Big East Player of the Year with Notre Dame, said on a conference call yesterday. “That was the biggest thing when I was hoping to get drafted.”
* High school pitcher Ian Clarkin, taken 33rd by the Yankees, was bombarded with questions on the conference call about a pre-draft interview in which he said he “can’t stand the Yankees” and “I was actually in tears, I was so happy” when they lost to the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series.
“I told my mom I would say that to tease her. She grew up a diehard Yankees fan, born in New Jersey,” said the left-hander Clarkin, a San Diego native who has signed with the University of San Diego and was ranked 17th overall by Baseball America entering the draft. “I didn’t mean anything by it, and I’m extremely proud to be a part of this wonderful organization.”