November 3, 1992: The New York Yankees trade center fielder Roberto Kelly and 1st baseman Joe DeBerry to the Cincinnati Reds, in exchange for right fielder Paul O'Neill.
At the time, I thought this was a great trade for both teams. O'Neill was a good hitter and a good fielder, who had done well in Cincinnati, the team he grew up rooting for in Columbus, Ohio. In Cincinnati, he had played for an equally fiery right fielder, his manager, Yankee Legend Lou Piniella. (Sweet Lou doesn't have his Number 14 retired or a Plaque in Monument Park, but he helped the Yankees win 4 Pennants and the YES Network gave him a Yankeeography, so I'm calling him a Yankee Legend -- capital Y, capital L.)
Playing in Yankee Stadium, with the short porch in right field, I figured O'Neill would hit more home runs than in the more neutral confines of Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and that Yankee Fans would love his intense personality.
I was right on both counts, as Paulie was our right fielder for the next 9 years, effectively taking the spot that many fans thought that Jay Buhner should have still had. In those 9 years, the Yankees made the Playoffs 7 times, winning 5 Pennants and 4 World Series. (He also won the Series with the Reds in 1990.) His Number 21 has been retired, and he's been given a Plaque in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park. He is now a broadcaster for the Yankees' YES Network.
Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps has been mocked as a lousy trade. Think of it, instead, as Jay Buhner for Paul O'Neill: 5 Pennants for New York, none for Seattle.
I also figured that Kelly, a native of Panama and an All-Star in 1992, would find the Reds a better fit. He'd been held back by being a righthanded hitter in Yankee Stadium, where left-center and center fields, while not as pronounced as in the pre-renovation era, was known as Death Valley. Riverfront was not only friendlier to righthanders, but had artificial turf, accommodating his speed. I thought the Reds were getting a great player.
A sad story? Not so fast. He managed in the minor leagues, and from 2008 to 2016, he was the 1st base coach and hitting instructor for the San Francisco Giants. With them, he won 3 World Series rings, only 2 fewer than O'Neill. Also on manager Bruce Bochy's staff were former Yankees Dave Righetti, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens and Joe Lefebvre. How about that? Kelly now manages the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League, a team whose home uniforms are white with navy blue pinstripes, just like the Yankees. He managed them to a Pennant in 2018.
Not that this gives the Reds any comfort: They still haven't won a Pennant, or even a National League Championship Series game, since 1990. "Curse of Paul O'Neill," Ohio Valley?
*
November 3, 1992 was a Tuesday. It was Election Day, and the Democratic nominee for President, Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas, defeated the Republican incumbent, President George H.W. Bush. This was also the day that Bill Clinton was elected President. I have a separate entry for that event.
The baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. And there were no NBA games played that day. But there were 5 NHL games:
* The only team from the New York Tri-State Area in action was the New York Islanders, and they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-0 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers played to a tie, 3-3 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).
* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1. This was one of the NHL's early-1990s experiments with neutral-site games. It was played at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, formerly home to the World Hockey Association's Indianapolis Racers. This made it a lot closer to a home game for the Hawks than it was for the Caps, but the Caps won.
* The expansion Tampa Bay Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-4 at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall in Tampa.
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the expansion Ottawa Senators, 5-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
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