WATCH: Yankees legend Paul O'Neill bounces first pitch to former teammate & Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly
Paul O'Neill is one of those legendary Yankee players who has one of the best baseball careers of his time. O'Neill is remembered in the Bronx for his contribution to the Yankees franchise.
The 61-year-old veteran played for nine years with the Bronx Bombers. O'Neill is a five-time All-Star and a five-time World Series champion. It's only natural for the Yankees to call their legend for the first pitch at home.
The Yanks are coming off a successful road series against the Astros and the Diamondbacks. Since it was Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, Paul O'Neill was called upon to throw the first pitch. Surprisingly, O'Neill threw the ceremonial first pitch to his former teammate and Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly.
Here's a look as the two legends shared the field once again.
O'Neill was one of the top scorers for the New York Yankees and was the only player to have three perfect games on the winning team. O'Neill won four World Series Championships with the Yankees.
Paul O'Neill weighs in on Yankees slugger Juan Soto
O'Neill shared his thoughts on Juan Soto and his position with the franchise. The Yankees legend looked at it differently, and he appreciated Soto's presence on the team. Soto played left field with the Padres and switching to the right with the Yanks has been a smooth transition.
“You can look at it as pressure or as excitement, I looked at it as excitement, he has a huge opportunity on a good team to do great things," O'Neill said.
The former Yankees star said that Soto had come to the MLB at a young age and he has tremendous power and balance. Soto helped the team win against the Astros and the Diamondbacks in their series.
“He came into the league at an unbelievably young age. He always swung at strikes. It sounds so easy, but it’s very difficult to do. That’s one of his strengths, being able to swing at strikes with tremendous power, tremendous balance,” Paul O'Neill said.
The retired slugger has always been a Yankee fan despite playing for the Cincinnati Reds. The Yanks dropped their first game against the Blue Jays at home and hope to rebound to tie the series.