WHY WE ALL LOVE PAUL O'NEILL

I grew up watching the Yankees during Don Mattingly's last few years. I witnessed the Core Four as rookies. Jorge Posada made his major league debut on my birthday. I cheered during Jim Abbott's no hitter. Players have come and gone, and all of them have left a little bit of an impression on me as a fan, and as an individual. But none of them was quite like Paul O'Neill.

I remember when the Yankees first got Paulie. I knew him as the player on the Reds that kicked the ball to the infield to make an out. While it was funny to me then, I understood it years later. He wanted that out, and he got it. I wrote PAUL O'NEILL TAUGHT ME ABOUT LIFE all about Paulie's drive and determination. His passion for the game, and unwillingness to give up continue to inspire me. I even use him as an example when my seven year old is frustrated because of his basketball game.

Kick your Gatorade container, but remember, you still have a game to finish. I'm not sure that Paulie intended for his dugout fits to become someone else's life lessons, but they did.

These days, we get to enjoy Paulie in the booth. He's mellowed out. No Gatorade containers to kick over in the booth. His banter with the other YES network announcers is engaging, and seriously entertaining. You really feel his love for, and understanding of the game. I absolutely love when he is announcing. Even my seven year old likes hearing him in the booth, although I have a suspicion that it has more to do with Paulie's love of food. He finds it hilarious.

Paulie also runs a charity. RIGHT FIELD CHARITIES donates money to non-profits that serve children. Money is donated to charities for autism, hospitals, and even schools. One of Right Field Charities goals is to "develop a state of the art baseball facility that heavily subsidizing the spiraling cost of amateur baseball to youth and their parents." As a parent with two young boys that love playing sports, I can tell you it has become almost financially impossible to enroll children in sports. Any charity organization that can help is okay in my book. Sports are important. Kids learn about team building, and cooperative play, and stay active and healthy. And for kids like mine from the inner city, it keeps them busy, and off the streets. The fact that Paulie's charity is dedicated to helping non-profits that help children in incredible. At the risk of sounding extremely cliche, children are our future. They deserve to be protected and loved.

It's easy to understand why Yankees fans love Paulie. Even some of my non-Yankees loving friends have expressed their admiration for him. He represents the passion, and dedication that we love on and off the field. Sometimes you get kicked down, but you should never stay down. Paulie showed us that time and again.

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer

Twitter: @e_morales1804

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