We asked Paul O’Neill about wanting it so bad, here’s his quote from EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: PAUL O’NEILL:
Paul O'Neill: I tend to be a perfectionist, hating failure. That may have started long ago as the youngest of six. There were so many of us, you sort of had to vie for dad’s praise and attention. But baseball is a game where great hitters get beat 7 out of 10 times. Where a guy could play fifteen years and feel accomplished because he has two World Series rings. Over 95% of roster players go home losing every year in baseball. I probably needed a thicker skin. I spent too many sleepless nights going over strikeouts or popups.
The point is these guys were warriors and it was never about individual accolades, they wanted it for their team and they ultimately got it, in 1996, in 1998 in 1999, in 2000 and for Posada 2009 too.
If Jorge Posada was on this team during their 3 game losing streak, there would be a closed door meeting just like 1998 and the outcome would be guys like Russell Martin and Eric Chavez walking out with their jaw dropped saying things about the meeting like “Posada is the greatest leader the Yankees have ever seen” and “Jorge pumped me up, I wish to be that passionate in my career.” Then… the Yankees would go out there and win and that would be the end of all the trash talk in New York. The Yankees would be back.
And no, this is not a slight at Yankees like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. They lead by example and they don’t like to lose either, but it’s different in my mind. Posada was blood and guts, his passion was in his face. You could literally see it when he walked out on the field. Jeet and Mo, they have the poker face. You know they want to win it all, but you can’t read their face. Posada… you can read his face and that’s why fans fall in love with guys like Paul O’Neill and Jorge Posada. It was an intensity not seen a lot in many players today.
Look, the Yankees will turn their season around, after all, it's already happened last night in Baltimore, read HERE, but you can’t tell me you’re not thinking about Jorge Posada right now….I know you are and why wouldn't you? He's a leader who wanted to be on top all the time and I believe he would have rose the occasion once again...that's what made him so great.
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Totally and completely true. David Cone recently said that the Yankees look like they aren't playing with the same urgency like when Mr Steinbrenner was alive. He may have a valid point - time will tell. Loved this blog!
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