Hoopography Top 25 Countdown: #11

The top 10 in my Hoopography Top 25 PC countdown is in sight, but for now, number 11 sure is a good one. My favorite New York Yankee is Mr. Paul O'neill. He was a glue guy on those World Championship teams of the mid and late 90's. He could do everything from driving in runs and playing a great right field to scaring Gatorade coolers around the Majors. O'neill's intensity is legendary. Yankees' YES Network announcer, Michael Kay, razzes O'neill from time to time in the both about his outbursts and cooler incidents. I loved that fiery attitude O'neill brought to the diamond every day. That's why he's my favorite all-time Yankee.

There aren't a ton of O'neill inserts or auto's out there, but there are a couple nice ones that I'm currently chasing. This 2000 Upper Deck SP Buy Back auto is one of the best O'neill cards out there and is numbered 70 of 142. This is also the second O'neill card on the Top 25 countdown. I'm a huge fan of buy back auto's. I love getting the separate UD matching Holo COA that comes with these. It's almost like two cards in one.

I apologize for the scan being a little fuzzy, but I didn't want to take the cards out of the case. The foiling on the left side is notorious for easily chipping. I know O'neill is not the most sought after Yankee to collect, but I thought the $15.25 including shipping I paid was a steal. In truth, I would have paid a lot more for this card. I think every collector has a player or two they're willing to over pay for and O'neill is mine (along with like 5 others).

I had a tough time not ranking this card in the top 10 of the countdown, but there was some tough competition. Stay tuned for my favorite top 10 cards in my collection and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".