PORT ST. LUCIE — Paul O’Neill was scared at first. He was leaving home, the only place he had ever known. He had grown up in Columbus, Ohio, a Reds fan, was drafted by the team and had played for no other organization.
So when he received the call in early November 1992 that he was traded, he felt not just rejection, but fear. He was not going just anywhere. But New York, for goodness sake. The big city. The Biggest City.