Tyler O’Neill, who emerged as one of the major bright spots for the St. Louis Cardinals a year ago, has had a tough go of it lately.
After hitting .286 with 34 home runs and 80 RBIs in 2021, O’Neill has not been himself.
To start the 2022 season, he is hitting a mere .200 with just two homers, 19 RBI, and a mediocre .581 OPS.
Yesterday, a baserunning blunder of his cost the Cardinals a chance to win their series against the Baltimore Orioles, as he was doubled up on the final out.
Granted, there have been distractions lately, such as his arbitration situation, a case in which the Cardinals won.
But when talking to Katie Woo of The Athletic, O’Neill refused to use that as an excuse and believes that soon, he will be back to his old self.
More on O'Neill, who's had a tough go all around lately. This includes arbitration, though he's skeptical to use that as an excuse.
"I had a long week for sure. But I'm getting past the negotiation stuff and feel like I'm coming into myself and hopefully it's relatively soon."
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) May 12, 2022
Not Making Excuses
O’Neill is taking the high road here and accepting responsibility for his struggles, not throwing any blame anywhere else.
He knows better than anyone that he has had a tough stretch of late, though he isn’t the only one who has struggled at the plate for the Cardinals.
Guys such as Paul DeJong and Corey Dickerson have been off to bad starts themselves.
The Cardinals offense has gone quiet recently.
But O’Neill has accepted responsibility like a professional and understands what he needs to do.
In fairness though, the arbitration situation he was faced with would be a tough distraction to block out, especially when it spills over into the regular season, as it did this year thanks to the lockout.
But it should only be a matter of time before O’Neill starts raking again.
The Cardinals know what he’s capable of.
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