New York Yankees color commentator Paul O’Neill said he still gets residuals whenever his cameo on Seinfeld airs. The paltry amount amused fellow broadcasters David Cone and Michael Kay.
During Thursday’s YES broadcast of the Yankees game against the Houston Astros, Cone noted that O’Neill made a cameo in an episode of Seinfeld and asked his former teammate if he still gets paid for it.
“You still get residual checks for being on that show?” Cone inquired.
“Yeah,” O’Neill replied. “You know what they are? They’re like 57 bucks.”
O’Neill’s reveal prompted laughter in the booth.
“It’s not bigtime,” he continued. “A good reminder, though, that you were on the show. It’s kinda cool.”
“That’s a glass of wine for you in a nice restaurant,” Kay said.
“That’s a good point,” O’Neill responded.
The former Yankees right fielder was in a 1995 episode titled “The Wink,” in which Kramer enlists him to hit two home runs in a game for a hospitalized child. Having already hit one homer, O’Neill hits what appears to be an inside-the-park home run, but instead, the play is scored a triple and an error.
O’Neill was one of several Yankees to appear on the show. The others were Danny Tartabull, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and manager Buck Showalter.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner also taped a scene, but it did not air. However, a fake Steinbrenner voiced by Larry David appeared in several episodes.