Twenty-one years after Paul O'Neill played his last game in pinstripes, the Yankees finally got around to retiring his number. On August 21, 2022, before a game against the Blue Jays, the club pulled No. 21 out of circulation for good and hung it in Monument Park -- a ceremony that should've been a straightforward victory lap for one of the most beloved Yankees of the dynasty era. Instead, 46,958 fans showed up, cheered for O'Neill, and booed the front office right in the middle of his own party. Only in the Bronx.
The Long Wait
O'Neill retired after the 2001 World Series, and for years his number just kind of sat there, unofficially retired by default. Nobody wanted to touch it -- except LaTroy Hawkins, who requested No. 21 in spring training 2008 as his own tribute to Roberto Clemente. The backlash was immediate and brutal. Hawkins lasted about two weeks into the regular season before switching to No. 22, and no Yankee wore 21 again.
The Yankees had actually honored O'Neill once before, on August 9, 2014, when they unveiled his Monument Park plaque in a pregame ceremony with Michael Kay and John Sterling hosting, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada and Tino Martinez and Joe Torre on hand, and Derek Jeter presenting O'Neill with a framed replica. (That's an honor, worth noting, but it's a different thing entirely than a number retirement -- 21 was technically still available after that day, even if nobody was crazy enough to ask for it again.) The actual retirement didn't happen for another eight years.
Why 21 in the First Place
O'Neill didn't pick the number for any grand reason. As a kid, he went to a game at Crosley Field with his dad and watched Roberto Clemente play right field for the Pirates, wearing 21. Years later, when the Reds handed O'Neill jersey No. 21, the connection clicked. He wore it his whole career as a quiet nod to Clemente, and he's talked about it since -- "there was something special about the number 21 that settled into my psyche, somewhere in the back of my mind." It's a better story than most guys have for why they wear the number they wear. (Most guys pick a number because it was the only one left in the equipment bag.)
The Ceremony
The 2022 ceremony ran about half an hour and brought back a good chunk of the dynasty. Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and longtime trainer Gene Monahan all showed up on the field, while video tributes rolled in from David Cone, Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, Jeter, and -- fittingly -- Roberto Clemente Jr.
Hal Steinbrenner handled the plaque presentation, and that's when things got loud in a way nobody scripted. The Yankees had dropped 14 of their previous 18 games heading into that Sunday, and the fans let Steinbrenner have it. When he brought up Brian Cashman's name -- Cashman wasn't even there in person -- the boos got louder still. O'Neill's tribute turned into an accidental referendum on the front office, which is a very Yankee Stadium thing to happen at a very Yankee Stadium ceremony. (The Warrior gets his number retired and the crowd still finds a way to make it about the GM. Perfect.)
The Yankees won the game afterward, 4-2, on an Andrew Benintendi two-run homer in the seventh. O'Neill probably would've approved of a team that at least showed up and did the job that day, even in the middle of a slump.
The Case for The Warrior
None of this happens if O'Neill wasn't O'Neill. Nine seasons in the Bronx, a .303 average, 185 home runs, 858 RBI, a batting title in the strike-shortened 1994 season when he hit .359, and four championships riding shotgun with a dynasty that ran through the 2001 pennant. He earned the nickname "Warrior" from George Steinbrenner himself, who liked O'Neill's habit of treating every strikeout like a personal betrayal -- water coolers and bat racks paid the price for years. O'Neill has said Steinbrenner felt "that is how all his players should be." He wasn't wrong. That intensity is exactly why O'Neill's number belongs next to Ruth's and Gehrig's and Mantle's in Monument Park, and why it took the Yankees entirely too long to get there.
| Ceremony Date | August 21, 2022 |
| Monument Park Plaque Unveiled | August 9, 2014 |
| Yankees Tenure | 1993-2001, 1,254 games |
| Career Batting Line (NYY) | .303/.377/.492 |
| Home Runs / RBI (NYY) | 185 HR / 858 RBI |
| 1994 Batting Title | .359 AVG, 21 HR, 1.063 OPS |
| World Series Rings | 5 (1 Reds, 4 Yankees) |
| Game That Day | Yankees 4, Blue Jays 2 (46,958 attendance) |
Trade to the Yankees
The Reds send O'Neill to New York for Roberto Kelly, setting up nine seasons in pinstripes.
Batting Title
O'Neill hits .359 to win the AL batting crown in the strike-shortened season, the highest average by a Yankee since Mantle in 1956.
The Chant
Yankee Stadium chants O'Neill's name during Game 5 of the World Series, sending him off in his final home game.
Monument Park Plaque
The Yankees unveil O'Neill's plaque in a pregame ceremony -- an honor, but not yet a number retirement.
Number 21 Retired
The Yankees formally retire O'Neill's No. 21 before a game against the Blue Jays, with Steinbrenner and Cashman getting booed along the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Paul O'Neill's number retired by the Yankees?
The Yankees retired O'Neill's No. 21 on August 21, 2022, in a pregame ceremony before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He'd received a separate Monument Park plaque back on August 9, 2014, but the number itself wasn't formally retired until 2022.
Why did Paul O'Neill wear number 21?
O'Neill first saw Roberto Clemente play as a kid at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, wearing No. 21 for the Pirates. When the Reds issued O'Neill that same number, he kept it as a quiet tribute to Clemente and wore it for his entire career.
Did any other Yankee wear number 21 after O'Neill retired?
Briefly. LaTroy Hawkins requested No. 21 in spring training 2008 as his own homage to Clemente, but the backlash from fans and media was severe. He switched to No. 22 within the first two weeks of the regular season, and no Yankee wore 21 again.
Where did Paul O'Neill's nickname 'The Warrior' come from?
George Steinbrenner gave O'Neill the nickname for his all-out intensity, including his habit of destroying water coolers and bat racks after bad at-bats. O'Neill later said Steinbrenner felt that level of fire was how every player should approach the game.
That's the thing about O'Neill's ceremony that fits the man perfectly -- it wasn't clean, it wasn't quiet, and somebody ended up furious by the end of it. Just like every at-bat he ever took.