WHY PAUL O'NEILL BACKED THE YANKEE FAMILY

Darryl Strawberry was on with the Michael Kay show the other day and there was a very important question asked. Which team was better, the 1986 Mets who won 108 games in the regular season or the 1998 Yankees? Clearly, I’m biased. The 1998 Yankees were the greatest team I’ve ever seen in my opinion. 125 wins and they just never stopped. It was a terrific blend of talent, heart and guts and without a doubt in my mind, they were better. Darryl, who played for both teams chose the 1986 Mets. Read about it HERE.

Luckily for us, the Warrior, Paul O'Neill, who played on the 1998 team, had something to say about his 1998 team: “They were very good….The 1998 team had much more depth. We had a couple of World Series under our belt too. We were seasoned to that point. The 1986 Mets were just a great team. They won just one World Series, right?”

I tend to agree with Paulie on this. The Mets were a great team and any team that makes it to the World Series usually is, but we don’t know if the Mets would have won that World Series in 1986 because the Red Sox were damn good too. There was obviously a tremendous momentum swing when Bill Buckner missed that ground ball from Mookie Wilson to put the Mets ahead to win it that night. They then won the next game to become champions. There is no question, if Bill Buckner snagged that grounder, we’re not even talking about this comparison, so yes, while the Mets were a great team, there was 1 important detail that altered history and I believe in momentum which is why I bring it up.

Paul O’Neill took a stand today for all of Yankeeland and I love it. The guy may not know what Twitter is and he may not try to get involved with interviews and Facebook and all that jazz, but when he does speak, people listen and I’m glad he jumped out there and said something. For the record, Darryl Strawberry is allowed to say whatever team he wants to say, after all, he played for both and he knows the inner workings of both teams. He’s entitled. I tend to think that Straw’s opinion is based on that feeling he felt being so young and on a great team like that. By the time Darryl came to the Yankees, he was a veteran, he was put through hell and back with personal issues and by then, it was probably just a job not a love. That's what I think. That being said, The Yankees in 1998 were truly great and there’s no denying that.

I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee… fan.

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