Thursday, June 20, 2019

Is Paul O'Neill All Right?

Does anyone know if O'Neill has spoken about his sister's death on the air?

I was surprised to see him in the broadcast booth, and he has seemed especially animated of late.

I don't mean this as a knock.  I know from my own experience that there can be a great sense of relief when a loved one has died after a hard, extended illness—a relief that they are no longer suffering, and that you no longer have to see them suffer.  And going back to a familiar, friendly work environment can be a big help after something like that.

In any case, RIP Molly O'Neill.  It was a storybook adventure in New York for her and her brother.



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

He dealt with it on the air on Tuesday.

Doug K.

tentigers said...

I didn't know of her passing. Condolences to Paul and his family. And you were spot on, Horace, about the pressure being lifted when a person leaves their suffering for a better place.

TheWinWarblist said...

This is so. There is solace in work.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Thanks, folks—and good to know, Doug K. Do you remember anything much of what he said?

I can remember her relating, in years past, how she and the other O'Neill boys used to chortle about Paul's fits of frustration: "Hey, just heard from Happy"—that's what they called him—"and he's on the George Washington Bridge" one of them joked after an 0-5 day.

JM said...

Michael Kay brought it up, sending condolences to Paul and his family. Paulie said it had been a long fight for her, and pretty much nothing else. The missus and I were also surprised he was working a game the day after, but it sounded like this was an inevitable conclusion the family had been waiting for, and for some time.

My wife has since noted that Molly must have got all the brains in the family, because listening to Paul on the broadcasts shows he sure didn't. But a hell of a player.

Speaking of which, did anyone notice the other night, when Kay returned from a "walk" between innings, O'Neill was kidding him about how much energy he suddenly seemed to have...Kay said that he had felt as if he was falling asleep, but suddenly was recharged, and Paul said, "What did you do, take a whizz?"

Nothing was said and it went by really fast, but it was like a potty-mouthed Scooter moment.

Goodtherapy said...

I was wondering about O’Neill’s continuing to work through his sister’s death as well, and would love to know more about what he said on or off air. It was helpful to be reminded that the Warrior played in the Series game that took place later in the same day his father died in 1999.

Anonymous said...

Hoss,

He didn't get that personal in terms of his own feelings. Just that she was a great writer and that she was struggling for a while, (with her health), and that it was a real loss.

Michael K. offered his condolences. etc.

I thought it was odd overall but then I realized that it was a tough situation for O'Neal. So he gave a public and professional answer and then moved on.

If I remember correctly he played a WS game the day after his dad died. We all grieve differently.

Doug K.

TheWinWarblist said...

I have her first book, The New York City Cookbook.

HoraceClarke66 said...

I haven't always liked him so much as a broadcaster, but he was better than I'd heard him yesterday. Talking in part about how they now try to get everyone to elevate their swings, and how that was almost ruinous for him in Cincinnati when Piniella tried to force him to be a power hitter.

He said that when he came to New York, they told him just to swing naturally, and the home runs would come. And so they did. He was always one of my favorite ballplayers to watch.

Der Kaiser said...

"they told him just to swing naturally, and the home runs would come."

I hope whoever was responsible was sent packing before they could cause any further damage!

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