Swing and a Hit

Nine Innings of What Baseball Taught Me

By: Paul O'Neill, Jack Curry

Narrated by: Jack Curry

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The fun and fiery memoir of All Star Yankee and five-time World Champion, Paul O’Neill.

In SWING AND A HIT, O'Neill elaborates on his most important hitting principles, lessons and memories—exploring these elements across 10 chapters (to align with the nine innings of a baseball game and one extra inning). Here, O’Neill, with his fiery temperament, describes what he did as a hitter, how he adjusted to pitchers, how he boosted his confidence, how he battled with umpires and (water coolers) and what advice he would give to current hitters.

O’Neill has always been a tough out at the plate. Recalling how he started to swing a bat competitively as a 5-year-old and kept swinging it professionally until he was 38, O'Neill provides constant insights into the beauty and the frustration of playing baseball. The legendary Ted Williams said using a round bat to hit a round ball is the most difficult thing to do in sports. Naturally, O’Neill, who once received a surprise call from Williams that was filled with hitting advice, agrees.

SWING AND A HIT features O'Neill's best insights and offers clubhouse stories from some of the biggest names in Major League Baseball—hitters, managers, and teammates like Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Pete Rose and Bernie Williams.

Remember, O’Neill, ever the perfectionist, is the type of hitter who believes that pitchers didn’t ever get him out. For that reason and so many others, SWING AND A HIT is an essential book for any baseball fan.

©2022 Paul O'Neill and Jack Curry (P)2022 Grand Central Publishing

Critic reviews

“I’ve always known how superb and how prepared Paul O’Neill was as a hitter. After reading SWING AND A HIT now I know all of O’Neill’s secrets and sacrifices and everything that helped make him such a splendid hitter. With every page I read, it was evident how Paul obsessed over the art of hitting and how he learned from some of the game’s best hitters. I loved competing with and against Paul. I loved this book just as much.”—David Cone, Five-Time World Series Champion, Cy Young Award Winner and baseball announcer for The Yes Network and ESPN

“Paul O’Neill’s passion to get a hit was obvious every time he stepped in the batter’s box. He was a fierce competitor who never thought he should make an out. And, in SWING AND A HIT, Paul intimately describes the journey that led to him being such a special hitter. This book is as entertaining and illuminating as one of O’Neill’s feisty at bats. Add another hit to O’Neill’s stats.” —Buck Showalter, Manager of The New York Mets, former manager of the N.Y. Yankees and three-time Manager of The Year.

“Paul O’Neill is so much more than “the warrior.” He is a baseball savant and an incredible student of the game. He and Jack Curry peel away the layers of the five-time world champion in this riveting read. I’ve known Paul for 30 years and I came away knowing much more about hitting and about him than before I picked up this fascinating read.” —Michael Kay, Yankees’ Play-By-Play announcer for the Yes Network.

Great listen

Lots of stories. Talks a lot about hitting and there’s many lessons to pick up from.

Thanks for the memories

As a lifelong Yankees fan, and one who lived and died with each win and loss through the championship years of 1996-2000, this book was an amazing walk down memory lane with Pauly.
Getting to hear the ins and outs of one of the hardest working baseball players in the game, from his perspective, was a fantastic view of that history.
Having lost my older sister, Cathy Martin, on 10/29/1999, my view of the 1999 Postseason was also a blur. I watched all 4 WS games in at my sister’s bedside in the hospital. Remembering those games through this book was heartbreaking and brought tears to my eyes, as Paul shared the grief he endured losing his father around the same time.
I doubt Mr. O’Neill will ever see this review, but, your style of play and sheer passion for the game was rewarding to watch. As a fan, it felt very vindicating seeing you as frustrated as we fans were when things didn’t go well. Nothing was more disheartening than to watch other players laughing or joking around in the dugout after having struck out in a huge spot. You were a great player, but your passion is what endeared you to so many New Yorkers. It was unmatched. Thank you for that.
Watching current Yankees games and getting to hear Paul, Michael Kay and David Cone reminisce about the past or poke fun at each other continues to entertain me today. This book is more of those conversations on a more in-depth level.
Great book and a must read for any baseball fan. Thanks Pauly. And thank you Jack Curry for bringing the story to life.

My Favorite Player

Growing up in Upstate NY during the 90’sPaul O’Neill was my Idol. I am a lefty and would always mimic his stance when I played. I also went to his plaque ceremony at Yankee Stadium in 2014 so it was cool to read about his mindset during that day. Must read for any Fan!

The Warrior!

a tad stat heavy, feels like a box score at times but a great listen.

Well Worth It For Baseball Fans

You might need to be either a Yankees fan or just an all around baseball fan to enjoy this book. Either way, it is well worth checking out. Paul O’Neill tells a great story and the narrator makes it a great listen. Not being a Yankee fan, I really never realized how accomplished O’Neill was so I enjoyed learning of his accolades. His stories of being with the Reds early in his career were very interesting as well.

Awesome book on The Warrior

If I actually needed any other reasons to like and appreciate The Warrior even more this book gave me that. Especially hearing more about the loss of his dad since I've recently lost my mom. Great book

The Warrior

Paul O’Neill is one of my absolute favorite Yankees. Listened to this on my drive to Yankee Stadium for Paul O’Neill day on Sunday. Made the drive to and from NY fly by. Perfect way to reminisce of the good times. Great insight and knowledge for someone who was still a kid during the 90s Yankee Dynasty. Highly recommend this book for any Yankee diehard.

Pleasant surprise!

I had known that Paul O'Neill was a terrific hitter and an intense, hyper-competitive, emotional player. Now I learned he is also a highly intelligent, thoughtful, humble, and grateful team player/man who worked extremely hard to earn all his accolades and success. I am now a big Paul O'Neill fan! Just too bad he couldn't hit that second homer for Bobby!

Good Book

I just didn’t like how it was all over the place in the first half of the book. Otherwise it was a good book. Only Yankee hook left to read is David cones now!

Fantastic

Brought back a lot of great memories! A great story with several laugh out loud moments that are definitely ‘warrior’ only.