On the Hank Bauer/Paul O'Neill Discussion

by Dusty Writes

March 21, 2026

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When comparing Hank Bauer to Paul O'Neill, the playing field is tilted against Bauer. Bauer had to deal with many obstacles that O'Neill did not have to. Both players were excellent Yankees and played a big part in the greatest dynasties in history. Bauer should join O'Neill in Monument Park.

The obstacles Bauer had to go through that O'Neill never had to deal with include the following:

Bauer got a very late start in his career due to his long military service during WW2. Bauer probably could have played 3 or 4 more seasons in MLB if he wasn't serving in the military. This greatly reduced Bauer's career offensive totals. Also, Bauer received 2 Bronze medals and 2 Purple Heart medals. He also had malaria many times, and wasn't in peak physical condition when he played throughout his MLB career due to his WW 2 service. He also won a Commendation medal.

Also, Bauer had to deal with the incredibly large left field dimensions in Yankee Stadium at the time as a right-handed batter. O'Neill, as a left-handed hitter had the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.

Throughout history, many more pitchers have been right-handed, which gives left-handed hitters the edge, for the most part. Left-handed hitters also are a step closer to first base when they are in the batter's box.

This last obstacle Bauer had to deal with is something most fans are probably not aware of. In the 1950's, teams would often save their best pitchers to pitch against the best teams. Since the Yankees were always the top team or one of the best, the Yankees batters had to go up against the top pitchers of other teams a disproportionate amount of times. Yankees fans who were fans during the 1950's, quotes by Yankees players who played in the 1950's, and statistics from Baseball Reference all agree that the top teams of the 1950s had to go up against the opposition's top pitchers more often than the other teams.

How much did this reduce Yankees' batting statistics?

In the book, The October Twelve, which tells about the Yankees 5 straight World Championships, Yankees pitcher Bob Kuzava made an amazing comment. While he probably exaggerated to a certain extent, his comment, nevertheless, mentions something most Yankees fans are not aware of. Kuzava is quoted in the book as saying:

"Whenever we played the Indians, we always saw the same three guys: Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, and Mike Garcia. Whenever we played Detroit, we never saw a second-line pitcher. If a Yankee of those days hit .290, he really was a .330 hitter."   

These are the obstacles Bauer had to go against that don't show up in statistics. Casey Stengel said some people evaluate a player by a .300 batting average or 100 rbi, but he said Bauer was a great player because he does all the correct things when the pressure is on in the clutch moments.

Also, Bauer not only got off to an incredibly late start in his MLB career, but he had very few seasons in which he had 500 at bats. Still, he accomplished an incredible amount in his career.

I admire Paul O'Neill's career and Yankees fans appreciate his intensity, his passion for winning. Acquiring O'Neill was one of the best trades in Yankees history. However, Paul O'Neill was given the nickname " The Warrior", which Michael Kay often uses. A baseball player is not a "Warrior". A true "Warrior" are people such as Hank Bauer.

Hank Bauer was " The Warrior" for his incredible service in WW2.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES - As we know, Hank Bauer played in a 154- game season, and over the course of a career, that could be a fairly significant difference when comparing players of a 154 -game season to those who played 162 -game seasons. If he played most of his career with those 8 extra games each season, he may have reached the 1,500- career hit total, which is a very nice milestone.

When I researched some of the top pitchers who pitched during Bauer's career, these pitchers collectively pitched more games against the Yankees than they pitched against the other teams. Here are some examples, from Baseball Reference:

Bob Lemon started more games vs the Yankees in his career (59), than against any other team. He started 38 games in his career vs the A's and 47 times vs Washington.

Billy Pierce started 76 games vs the Yankees in his career. Only vs the Indians, did Pierce start more games (78), than against the Yankees. He started only 44 vs Detroit, vs the A's only 43 times, vs the Twins 38 times.

Hal Newhouser started 65 games in his career vs the Yankees, the most starts vs any team. He started only 36 games vs the A's and 46 games vs the Red Sox.

Ellis Kinder started more games against the Yankees (22), than against any other team.

Bob Feller started 73 games vs the Yankees. The only team he started more games against was the Tigers with 79. Feller started only 56 games vs Washington.

Early Wynn started 100 games vs the Yankees. The next closest was the A's with 86 starts.

Frank Lary started 49 games vs the Yankees, the most he started vs any team. The next closest was 38 starts vs the Indians.

Art Houtteman had several good seasons. In two of those seasons combined, he started 13 games vs the Yankees, the most of any team.

The Yankees batters had a disadvantage vs other teams, for the most part, since Yankees batters had to go up against the top pitchers more often than the rest of the teams in the AL did. It would be interesting to estimate or guess how many more points would be added to the Yankees batters offensive statistics, if they didn't have to bat against the top pitchers many more times than the rest of the league did.

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Finally, a note from our editor: Please also refer to this article from last September that was published here on SSTN: https://www.startspreadingthenews.blog/post/hank-bauer-and-paul-o-neill-why-is-only-one-in-monument-park