Two years after their first conversation via FaceTime, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates finally met his namesake, New York Yankees broadcaster Paul O’Neill.
Before the Pirates’ 9-4 win over the Yankees on Saturday, Cruz and O’Neill finally met in person.
“I feel very happy,” Cruz told YES Network through interpreter and Pirates coach Stephen Morales. “It’s my pleasure to finally meet him.”
When the Pirates last played at Yankee Stadium in 2022, O’Neill was not on the call for YES Network. Instead, the pair video chatted and O’Neill, who played 17 years in the Majors with the Yankees and Cincinnati Reds, sent a signed jersey as a gift.
“When you hear these stories about Yankees fans naming their kids, it’s actually quite an honor,” O’Neill told YES on Saturday. “I saw that he was born in 1998. It was a wonderful year for us [Yankees won the World Series].
Cruz can thank his father, Rafael, for his first name. Rafael Cruz spent parts of three seasons in the Texas Rangers organization in the mid-1980s and his favorite player at the time was O’Neill. When his son was born in 1998, the choice of a first name was obvious.
“In my hometown, everyone assumed my name came from Shaquille O’Neal since I was a kid,” Oneil Cruz told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2022. “I would have to correct them and say, ‘No. , it’s another guy, my dad’s favorite ballplayer.’ To this day, I haven’t really dug in to find out, but I need to know the full story.”
Cruz hasn’t had much success against O’Neill’s old team in his young career. The Pirates shortstop/centerfield is 1-for-11 against the Yankees since reaching the Majors in 2021.
But 2024 has proven to be a breakout year offensively for Cruz with 21 home runs, 71 runs and 76 RBI – numbers that have impressed the man he is named after.
“He’s not a little boy,” O’Neill said. “I’m quite impressed with the way he looks, and he clearly has a bright future.”
