Ahead of Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, longtime New York Yankees color analyst Paul O’Neill received the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
To say it didn’t go to plan might be a bit of an understatement.
On top of the honor of throwing the first pitch before the game, O’Neill was also working on-site for the YES Network, previewing the game with Michael Kay.
.@RealMichaelKay and @PaulONeillYES discuss the Yankees’ offense, specifically how Aaron Judge can get back to form.
Watch and Stream #YANKSonYES LIVE: https://t.co/aRu5PF6iD2 pic.twitter.com/1k5LjdAtff
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 29, 2024
When it came time for O’Neill to take center stage for his moment on the mound, he provided another bad omen in a series filled with bad omens for Yankees fans, completely airmailing fellow former Yankee A.J. Burnett who was behind the plate as the catcher.
It was such a bad first-pitch attempt that O’Neill stayed on the mound and got another try, which he bounced to Burnett.
Paul O’Neill throws tonight’s ceremonial first pitches in the general direction of A.J. Burnett: pic.twitter.com/kZs7WgLUlp
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) October 30, 2024
In a sense, maybe this brutal first-pitch attempt from O’Neill provided some comedic relief to the Yankees crowd that desperately needed it. Or, it is a reminder of the comedy of errors from the Yankees thus far in this series.
Regardless, fans at home seem to believe that this was an unfortunate sign of things to come in Game 4.
Paul O’Neill just put the nail in the coffin for the Yankees with this first pitch 😬
pic.twitter.com/S2BrGkYEPX— 4 Train Savages (@FourSavages) October 30, 2024
Paul O’Neill just airmailed the ceremonial first pitch. Then bounced the makeup, Solid start to the night.
— Moose™ (@MarcMalusis) October 30, 2024
Paul O’Neill just sailed the first pitch to the backstop, asked for the ball back, then proceeded to bounce one.
That about sums it up.
— NYY Takes (@nyytakes) October 30, 2024
This unflattering moment will almost certainly be brought up in the future on Yankees broadcasts. But depending on how the remainder of this series goes for the Yankees, it may just be a harsh reminder of what could have been.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.