Say it ain't so, Paulie!? Yankee broadcaster Paul O'Neill endorses Donald Trump, loses my respect forever

Donald Trump and Paul O'Neill at Trump's victory speech last night

I was fixing supper after working out tonight, and minding my own business, when Donald Trump came on to blather about his presidential campaign victories tonight. If that weren't painful enough, I nearly lost my lunch (make that dinner!) when I learned that 1) Yankee fan favorite Paul O'Neill was in the audience, and 2) O'Neill was supporting The Donald.

Oh, and when I saw the photo above, I got even more sick to my stomach! (Incidentally, O'Neill looks as uncomfortable as Chris Christie. Paulie, if you need help, blink three times in a row!)

What the heck is O'Neill thinking? Why is he getting involved with supporting a demagogue like Trump? Especially given that O'Neill is a broadcaster for the YES Network, and is in the public eye.

Why would he endorse David Duke's favorite presidential candidate? How disappointing. And I have to wonder -- which campaign promises of Trump most appeal to the former right fielder? What part of Trump's rhetoric is most exciting to O'Neill?

Is it Trump calling Mexicans who emigrate to America "rapists? Him wanting to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico? Trump's desire to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants on the first day of his administration? Him wanting to ban Muslims from coming into the country?

Or perhaps it's the way Trump thinks of the U.S. military as his own palace guard, ready to commit war crimes on his say-so. Or maybe O'Neill likes the way Trump talks about women in such disrespectful or derogatory terms. Or it could be that Paulie secretly wants to go to Trump University.

Whatever it is, I'm never going to think of O'Neill the same way again. And he was one of my favorite Yankees ever. He was also one of my late father's favorite Yankees. I just talked about how much I liked the way O'Neill handled his farewell tour. But he is supporting a very bad man for president.

As Jon puts it, he's known me for over 15 years, and Jon's never seen me take a public political stand like this. But I feel that strongly about Trump being a menace that I had to say something.

Look, I'm not going to tell you that you should vote for Ted Cruz or Hillary Clinton or whatever. I just want to stop Trump. And I have respect for whomever anybody chooses to vote for in the presidential race. Except for Donald Trump. He deserves no respect whatsoever, and I really have a hard time holding onto respect for those who support him, given his horrendous views on the world.

What's the upside for O'Neill here? Many fans besides me are upset over this. Say it ain't so, Paulie!