Keith Hernandez Signs 3-Year Deal to Return to Mets Booth

13 Feb

Keith Hernandez
NYPost.com:

Mets fans will continue to receive a healthy dose of Keith Hernandez on the team’s SNY-produced broadcasts over the next three seasons.

Hernandez, according to sources, has agreed to a three-year contract with SNY that will keep him in the booth as part of the longest-tenured broadcast trio in MLB history. Hernandez’s return was first reported Monday by Boomer Esiason on WFAN.

You know damn well that a Mets broadcast wouldn’t be the same without Keith.

Yes. Keith Hernandez Belongs in the Hall of Fame

15 Jan

1984 Topps Keith Hernandez
NYDailyNews.com:

While reflecting on his career, which earned him a number retirement from the Mets and a congratulatory press conference on Wednesday, Keith Hernandez also came face-to-face with his own mortality.

Specifically, when the topic shifted to his chances of making the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the 68-year-old Hernandez said that if he does earn an induction, he’d like for it to happen while he’s still around to appreciate it. “It’s out of my hands,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been out of the game for a long time. Hopefully I’ve got another 15, 16, 17, 18 years of life. Maybe it’ll happen before I kick the bucket.”

I’m not into the analytics stuff, so I went old-school and counted 9 Hall of Fame-ish seasons for Hernandez during his career. Add to that an MVP in ’79, two World Series championships and 11 Gold Gloves and to me, Hernandez should be in there. Of course, the biggest knock will be the lack power for a 1st baseman (only 162 HRs in a 17-year career), but in his prime Keith was pretty consistent run producer with a guarantee of around 90 per year and an OBP that was always high. That said, the fact that Hernandez never got better than 10.8% in a Hall of Fame vote when he was on the ballot is mind-boggling. Time for the Veterans Committee to make up for that mistake.

Mets to Bring Back Old Timers Day

13 Jan

Mets Old Timers Day
Newsday.com:

On Wednesday, on a Zoom news conference to talk about that honor, Hernandez may have added a second new line to his resume: Newsbreaker. As he was talking about the Mets’ growing efforts under owner Steve Cohen to celebrate their history, Hernandez seemed to break the news that the team is going to hold its first Old-Timers’ Day since the 1990s this summer.

“The fact that we’re going to have an Old-Timers’ game again,” Hernandez said. “They’re going to bring in 50 players, I understand. That is fantastic.” The Mets have not announced the return of Old-Timers’ Day. Team president Sandy Alderson was asked on the same Zoom call if they plan to in 2022.

Yet another great move here by Steve Cohen in respect to Mets tradition.

Keith Hernandez To Finally Have His Number 17 Retired

11 Jan

Keith Hernandez
NYPost.com:

The Mets are going to retire Keith Hernandez’s No. 17 next season, during a ceremony on Saturday, July 9, prior to a game with the Marlins. Hernandez, the lynchpin of the Mets’ 1986 world championship team, joins Casey Stengel (37), Gil Hodges (14), Tom Seaver (41), Mike Piazza (31) and Jerry Koosman (36) to be so honored.

Hernandez played for the Mets from 1983 through 1989, acquired from the Cardinals in a trade on June 15, 1983. He hit .297 as a Met and won five Gold Gloves as a first baseman in New York. In 1984 he finished second to Ryne Sandberg in the NL MVP vote, hitting .311 with 97 RBIs.

Hernandez’s number being retired is not only long overdue, but also further testament to former owner’s Fred Wilpon’s incompetence in running the team all those years. David Wright will obviously get his number retired some day soon. But why the late, great Gary Carter hasn’t had his number retired already is beyond me.

No One Has Corroborated Ron Darling’s Account Of Alleged Lenny Dykstra Racial Taunts

4 Apr


Not his broadcasting partner Keith Hernandez. Not Darryl Strawberry or Dwight Gooden or Kevin Mitchell. Not Oil Can Boyd. Not Wally Backman (who had to be right behind Dykstra as he was 2nd in the lineup that day). Not any former Red Sox or even a front-seat Sox fan who attended Game 3. No one.

RELATED: Ex-Met Darryl Strawberry takes sides in Ron Darling-Lenny Dykstra feud, calling 1 of them a liar

Keith Hernandez To Undergo Back Surgery

28 Jan

Keith Hernandez
With his unique wit and at times brutal honesty, it’s funny how the 1979 co-MVP and 2-time World champ’s broadcasting career has become as noteworthy as his playing days:

Mets legend and SNY announcer Keith Hernandez will undergo back surgery during the latter part of next week. Hernandez made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday.

“I’ve blown out my back once again,” he wrote. “This time I ruptured a disc, T11-12, which is my mid back. Surgery is scheduled latter part of next week. I have a terrific surgeon. Arthroscopic entry, which means no cutting through tissue & muscle. He will cut a small portion of bone away on both vertebrae which will enlarge my nerve passageway & relieve my discomfort there. I’m very positive about this. I’ve lived with back pain everyday going back to 1990.”

Though Hernandez is tired of his back issues, he said he is remaining positive and is confident the surgery will heal this long-term problem.

“Micro-laser procedure,” he wrote. “He will zap the protruding disc and that will eradicate the pressure on my nerve which has been giving me hell. He will also repair my old, lower back injury. I have severe stenosis there (L4-5).”