Fluff piece on Michael O'Neill (Former UM Baseball Player)
Nice write-up on him in SI. Talks about his time at Michigan, the start of his time in the Yankees system, and his uncle, former Yankee Paul O'Neill.
From the article:
The two O'Neills approach the game in different ways, however. Paul's best asset was his power at the plate; Michael's is his speed on the basepaths. In three years at Michigan, Michael stole 72 bases -- fourth all-time at the university.
"He's one of those rare players that has technique and speed," says Michigan coach Erik Bakich. "But the scary part is that he's only scratching the surface. I can't wait to see how remarkable he is in a year or two.
Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130725/michael-oneill/?sct=hp_wr_a1&eref=sihp
"Ultimately the Yankees drafted O'Neill in the third round, 103rd overall. On top of his $500,000 signing bonus, they offered to pay for his final year of college, whenever he chooses to finish school."
Not sure if that is standard procedure, but this is a pretty cool offer by the Yankees all the same, to pay for him to finish his degree when he chooses to do so, especially after they didn't take him in the 2nd round.
I believe O'Neill led the team in most offensive categories of note this season, from what I recall, including batting average, OBP, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits and perhaps a few others. He even had a 16-game hitting streak to start the season, if I am not mistaken. Great player, and hopefully he is embarking on a successful MLB career.
Great article, and thanks for sharing!
That's a great way to conivnce a kid to leave for the Bigs, offering to pay the rest of his schooling whenever he wishes to take it. Hopefully that's standard procedure, because that's awesome.