Paul O’Neill leaves booth during game to take a picture with Jimmy Fallon
People act strange when they see celebrities in the real world. It’s easy to get star struck when you cross paths with a person who has a giant public profile.
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Paul O’Neill is, apparently, one of those people. During Tuesday’s game, O’Neill actually left the YES broadcast booth during the game in order to take a picture with comedian Jimmy Fallon.
The event occurred in the top of the seventh inning. We know that because the announcers wind up calling Maikel Franco’s hit by pitch in the middle of O’Neill’s shenanigans.
As O’Neill would reveal later, Fallon wasn’t the only celebrity in the photo.
O’Neill claims his colleague, Michael Kay, dared him to take the picture. That’s an entertaining story, but we’re not sure we buy it.
[On this week’s StewPod: What punishments should we expect in MLB hacking scandal? ]
Fallon appeared at Yankee Stadium earlier in the year, and participated in some hijinks after recoiling from a foul ball. It’s entirely possibly O’Neill missed his chance at the time, and decided to make up for it during his next opportunity.
We don’t typically think of ballplayers turning into fanboys when it comes to other celebrities, but it makes sense. Though both are celebrities in their own world, they run in much different groups. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that O’Neill freaked out like a regular person when he saw Fallon in the real world.
O’Neill famously appeared on an episode of “Seinfeld,” so we know he has some experience in the entertainment world. Maybe he was trying to see if Fallon was looking for a sidekick. Anything is better than having to talk to Michael Kay all day, right?
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
