Late Tuesday night, after the Cardinals completed a 5-3 victory against the Chicago Cubs in freezing temperatures, O’Neill was in Omaha, Neb., called for a quick meeting with Class AAA manager Stubby Clapp, and told to pack and go back to the airport for a dawn flight. The majors beckoned.
By the time he arrived in Chicago, luggage in tow, the afternoon game between the Cardinals and Cubs had been postponed because of a persisting chill and threats of a wintry mix all afternoon. The temperature was in the mid-30s at game time, and icy rain fell at the ballpark an hour or so later.