FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox slugger Tyler O’Neill wasn’t a fan of Tee Ball as a kid. He actually didn’t try baseball again until he was 11.
“It just wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t really catch,” the two-time Gold Glove winner said at JetBlue Park on Wednesday.
Meet the new guy, Red Sox fans. O’Neill, a native of Canada, went one-one-one with MassLive to discuss different parts of his life, including playing the piano, family, growing up near Vancouver, lifting weights, staying so fit (3% body fat) and his hitting approach.
Boston acquired the right-handed hitter from the Cardinals for pitchers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos on Dec. 8.
O’Neill, a left fielder who also can play right field and center field, won Gold Gloves in 2020 and ‘21. He finished eighth in the NL MVP voting in 2021 when he batted .286 with a .352 on-base percentage, .560 slugging percentage, .912 OPS, 34 homers, 26 doubles, two triples, 89 runs, 80 RBIs, 15 steals, 38 walks and 168 strikeouts in 138 games (537 plate appearances).
He has dealt with multiple injuries the past two seasons but he said in January, “I fully believe that player (from ‘21) is still in there.”
Q&A with Tyler O’Neill
Smith: You play the piano?
O’Neill: “My mom got me into it at an early age. Six or 7 years old, I started taking some basic lessons. … Nothing crazy. Just understanding some scales and stuff. I’m no master musician over here. But it’s fun to be able to put something together once in a while.”
Smith: What’s the most complex song you play?
O’Neill: “I have one song I like to (play) if I ever sit down. It’s called Requiem for a Dream. It’s basically The Lord of the Rings theme song. G-minor. That’s my favorite scale. I learned it pretty early. It was a pretty complex song at the time that I learned it. It’s just stuck with me. So yeah, that’s the one.”
Smith: I know your dad is a bodybuilder. Do you also come from a family of musicians?
O’Neill: “No no. She (mother) plays a little bit. Just little songs. Nothing too crazy or complex. But I’m really grateful for them pushing me into it. It’s not something I wanted to do as a kid. It just felt like another chore and something I had to dedicate more time to. I just wanted to play video games or play some sports outside or something.
“But looking back now, I’m really grateful for the skill that I learned over those years. Because it takes a long time to kind of understand how it works. I’m still not even close to understanding how unique it really is. But being able to play a scale or two here and there just for fun, it’s nice. Get to teach my daughter that sort of stuff. It’s definitely skills that can carry over.”
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Smith: What other sports did you play growing up?
O’Neill: “I played soccer at a young age. Most kids played soccer up there. I played one year of Tee Ball but I didn’t like it when I was young. I picked baseball back up when I was 11 years old. I played hockey.”
Smith: Why didn’t you like Tee Ball?
O’Neill: “It just wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t really catch.”
Smith: So the kid who didn’t end up going forward in Tee Ball ended up playing in the major leagues.
O’Neill: “I guess. Everybody’s journey’s different. But no, I was playing hockey at a young age. I was taking skating lessons when I was 4 years old. As soon as I could walk, 3 or 4 years old, I was on the ice.”
Smith: Well, I was gonna ask about hockey. That’s the big sport in Canada. You have the Vancouver Canucks right there in your area. Do you like hockey a lot?
O’Neill: “Yeah, definitely growing up. I don’t follow it as much as I would like anymore just because time is a little bit more thin for me these days. But yeah, definitely a hockey fan.”
Smith: So you lived in the Vancouver area growing up. So who do you cheer for, the Blue Jays or the Mariners?
O’Neill: “Kind of a little bit of both just because the Blue Jays have such a dominant TV (tele)cast in the country. Seattle also is right there growing up. So we’d go to Seattle for a series every summer when I was a little kid growing up. I just remember going to Safeco Field. And watching the Yankees or watching the Sox come into town was always a fun time.”
Smith: Any favorite player growing up?
O’Neill: “Larry Walker. The same hometown, Canadian guy. He raked, obviously. He can field with the best of them. Throwing guys out from right field is something special. So definitely someone I look up to.”
Smith: This came from Jarren (Duran). He said you have just 3% body fat. Is this correct?
O’Neill: “Yeah, according to the … machine or whatever they use out here, yeah.”
Smith: How the heck hard is that to do?
O’Neill: “I don’t know. Well, I’ve done my research on myself and stuff. I have a very fast metabolism. So I have to understand how to diet properly and know how different things break down in my body compared to maybe somebody else. So yeah, I metabolize things super quick. I really have to focus on fatty foods. A lot more carbs, eating earlier in the day. Generally speaking, I’m an intermittent faster. So it’s really easy for me to drop weight and drop fat percentage. So I’ve really been focusing on getting more food into my diet and into my schedule.”
Smith: A very fast metabolism is every adult’s dream.
O’Neill: “I have some restrictions. I have some food allergies. So that cuts a lot of stuff out of my diet that probably wouldn’t be good for me anyway. Dairy specifically and a couple nut allergies. But that’s not a big deal. … I can’t eat eggs, either. It just doesn’t sit right and nothing’s worth a stomach ache.”
Smith: So what is the food that gives you the most calories and you enjoy the most?
O’Neill: “It’s tough to say. The chefs in this kitchen are so awesome. Chinese. Barbecue, Mediterranean. Spanish. There’s been awesome food in there. I could always go for a basket of chicken wings or something when I need some sort of craving. But just generally, it’s no dessert for me. It’s just tougher to eat with the stomach ailments that it causes.”
Smith: You’ve been described to me as intense but friendly. How would you describe your personality? Is intense but friendly fair to say?
O’Neill: “I can see that, for sure. I definitely am very focused and routine-oriented — and on to the next thing every time. But I want to pay everybody the respect they deserve when they are trying to speak to me or learn a little bit about me. Or just talk about baseball or anything. So yeah, I would say that’s fair.”
Smith: What’s the coolest part about being a major leaguer?
O’Neill: “The lifestyle is pretty cool. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time away from family. So if there’s one thing I could change, it would obviously be to play at home for 160 games but that’s never gonna happen. But that’s part of the gig, man. It’s exciting. It’s thrilling to visit these new cities. I’m so excited to get in this new division. There’s a couple ballparks I haven’t been to, especially in the American League in general. It’s gonna be awesome. Change is good and the boys here are awesome. They took me in and treated me with just so much respect, just like I’ve always been their teammate. So the transition has been very easy for me so far.”
Smith: You’re a right-handed hitter and there’s a big wall at Fenway in left field that’s friendly. But what do you try to do as a hitter? When you’re at your best, what are you doing?
O’Neill: “Using the whole field, for sure. I’m not trying to get pull-happy and try and play with the Monster over-aggressively. But I also don’t want to get pushy to right field because there’s also issues that way. So just using the center of the field. Being able to drive the ball to center field, right-center field and catch things out front and use the Monster when it’s necessary. But a good direction for me is to stay up the middle.”
Smith: Baseball Savant has you in the 89th percentile in arm strength. What’s the best part of your defensive game?
O’Neill: “I don’t know. I can’t really put a finger on anything. I just try to do all the little things right — fundamentals, try to catch the ball the right way, hit the right cutoff guy when I throw it in. And just trust my athleticism when I’m out there to go get the baseball. Understanding the ballpark dynamics. Obviously Fenway is the most unique out of all of them. Getting comfortable out there and understanding how to play the wall and the other two positions. So just getting the reps and making sure I’m trusting myself and trusting the preparation.”
Smith: Wikipedia says you were ‘recorded on video quarter-squatting as much as 585 pounds.’ What’s the most impressive lift you’ve done?
O’Neill: “Yeah, I’ve squatted six plates before. But just in case I dropped that on myself, I didn’t want to get that on camera (laughing). But that was a long time ago. I was 18, 19.”
Smith: So then you’ve been bodybuilding for a while. Of course your dad is a bodybuilder.
O’Neill: “I learned a specific way in the weight room, for sure. I understand how to structure a pyramid scheme and rep schemes. It put me a step ahead for sure when I was younger. And I definitely was doing a lot more heavy, radical, reckless lifts when I was a little younger. And now it’s much more modified to … range of motion and stuff. I was bench pressing over four plates. I was doing that for years in a row. Squatting over five plates no problem for years in a row.
“But I can get the same work at a much less weight. Drop down to three plates or two plates, you can rep those out and then add some explosive, dynamic work to it. Some med ball throws or some plyometrics. Just all sorts of stuff that I’ve learned in the weight room, especially the last two years. And just making the most of it.”
