Paul Articulates – 17 reasons why Keith Hernandez belongs amongst Mets’ royalty

On Saturday, Keith Hernandez had his number 17 retired by the New York Mets.  This was another honor in a long list for the former player and current broadcaster.  Keith has a huge following among fans and deservedly so because he was an intensely competitive ballplayer with all-star level skills but also has a very human side that we enjoy during the SNY and PIX broadcasts.

Keith’s influence on the Mets has spanned almost 40 years between his acquisition in June, 1983 and his current role as part of the Emmy-winning trio of Mets broadcasters known to millions as “Gary, Keith, and Ron”.  There are so many defining moments during this period that Keith influenced the history of this ball club, so it is fitting that as the team retires #17, I will share my favorite 17 Hernandez memories.

#17: The Co-MVP.  In 1979, Hernandez had a season to remember with the St. Louis Cardinals.   He led the league in hitting (.344), runs (116) and doubles (48) with a career-high 105 RBIs that season and should have taken the MVP outright, but was tied in the voting to sentimental favorite Willie Stargell who led the Pirates to a World Series championship that year.

#16:  Seven RBIs.  On April 26th, 1988 The Mets pounded the Atlanta Braves.  (hope we can say that this week) Keith had two home runs including an eighth inning grand slam and drove in 7 runs to help his team dominate their rival.  Hernandez didn’t have a stellar year in ’88, but showed in this game that he still had something left in the tank. 

#15: The personality.  Keith was one of the best players in the game and he knows that.  He is not afraid to mention his abilities on the field and in the batters’ box, but he comes across as confident, not egotistical.  He enjoys joking with his broadcasting partners Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, even when he is taking the brunt of the joke.  He is not even afraid to admit that he lives with a cat!  He is humble enough to be fun, but confident enough to know that he is loved by millions of fans.  That’s a rare combination.

#14: The 3-6-3.  Many first basement that field ground balls with a runner on first will initiate a double play by throwing to the shortstop and then getting out of the way as the pitcher covers first for the return throw to complete the play.  Hernandez felt differently.  He would make the throw, and as soon as the ball left his hand he would sprint to first and take the return throw.  With his better glove and ability to scoop an errant return throw, he made the 3-6-3 a much more reliable play and made the Mets’ infield defense all the stronger.

#12b:  Many (most) ballplayers are superstitious, so much like the thirteenth floor of a hotel we will not acknowledge the number.  Keith was superstitious too, as demonstrated by the now-famous story about Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.  Keith made the second out of the ninth inning with a deep fly ball to center, and with the Mets down to their final out and behind by two runs he headed into the clubhouse so he “wouldn’t have to see the Red Sox celebrating” on his home field.  As the famous rally unfolded, Keith wanted to run back out to the dugout, but superstition held him back and he watched the exciting conclusion from the TV in manager Davey Johnson’s office.  As he recounted the story, he said, “To this day I think that chair still had hits in it.”

#12a: That “other” game 6.  In the sixth and decisive game of the 1986 NLCS against the Houston Astros, the Mets were down 3-0 in the ninth inning and facing the reality that the unstoppable Mike Scott would be facing them in game 7.  Hernandez delivered a clutch double to drive in the second run and later scored the third run of the inning on Ray Knight’s sacrifice fly.  This tied the game and sent it to extra innings.  The Mets eventually won the game in the 16th inning bringing them the NL pennant and a berth in the ’86 World Series.

#11: The cycle.  On July 4, 1985 Keith Hernandez hit for the cycle in a 19-inning win over the Atlanta Braves.  Hernandez doubled in the first, tripled in the fourth, homered in the eighth and singled in the 12th.

#10: Telling it like it is. While in the booth, Keith is not afraid to share an opinion about a player on the field and sometimes it can become a teachable moment.  When a player misses a cutoff assignment or positions themselves improperly for the situation at hand, Keith is quick to critique – and from my experience learning from some very good coaches, Keith is always right on with his comments.  This guy knows baseball and we can all learn a thing or two from listening to him.

#9: The speech. At his number retirement, Keith Hernandez made a very gracious, appropriate speech to an extremely receptive crowd.  As Howie Rose put it, “He knocked it out of the park.”  At the end of his speech, Keith brought the attention back to the current team, crediting them for hustling, playing hard, and comporting themselves as professionals.  On HIS day, he was still all about the team!

#8: The moustache.  Somehow Keith Hernandez turned a simple piece of facial hair into a defining characteristic that everyone recognized.  He even made TV commercials with another uber-famous New York sports personality Walt “Clyde” Frazier for the hair coloring product “Just For Men”.

#7: The captain.  On May 4, 1987 manager Davey Johnson named Keith Hernandez captain for the Mets team.  This was an honor that Keith was very proud of.  Although Gary Carter was named co-captain in the following year, there was no doubt who was “the guy”.  Bruce Markusen relates a story in his book, “Tales from the Mets Dugout” where Hernandez, Jesse Orosco, and Gary Carter were on the mound in the 16th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS.  The Astros had two men on with two out and the Mets were up by one.  Keith had tired of seeing the Astros rip Orosco’s fastball and Carter kept calling for it.  “Kid”, said Hernandez, “If you call one more fastball we’re going to fight.”  Orosco struck out Kevin Bass with a slider and the Mets went to the world series.

#6:  The season 3 Seinfeld episode.  Keith admittedly had never seen “Seinfeld” before his agent provided him with the script.  He agreed to play himself for that episode, which became an instant classic with several memorable moments including his line during a moment with Elaine, “I’m Keith Hernandez” and the dispute with Kramer and Neumann about whether he spit on them.  

#5: The assist.  Many call Keith Hernandez the best defensive first baseman to ever play the game.  While the “typical” first baseman is a powerful hitter with limited glove and range who records putouts by catching others’ throws, Hernandez had great range, a strong arm, and incredible baseball savvy.  This often positioned him to throw runners out either on force plays or on relays from the outfield.  For his career, he has the fifth most assists as a 1B in MLB history though he was second when he retired.  He recorded a .994 fielding percentage over 17 years despite playing a much more aggressive first base than his peers (see #1).

#4: Making the most of an opportunity.  In 1983 when Keith Hernandez learned he was traded to the last place Mets, he thought he was being punished and was not happy about the destination.  Instead of sulking about it or demanding a trade, Keith took full advantage of the opportunity to lead an inflow of talented young players to become that dominant 1986 team.

#3: The Eleven consecutive Gold Gloves.  This is still a record for MLB first basemen.  When a lifetime .296 hitter with over 2,000 hits and over 1,000 RBI is remembered for his defense, you know he had a remarkable career.  It is also something that was well deserved.  Hernandez not only played a stellar first base, but he was the field general that everyone looked to.  He was irreplaceable at his position, generating a career 60.3 WAR according to Baseball Reference.

#2:  Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.  So many people remember the 1986 series for the furious 2-out, ninth inning rally that saved the series and propelled the Mets to the world championship.  But few remember that the Mets were actually losing game 7 in the 6th inning 3-0.  Hernandez singled in a pair in that inning and then got his third RBI in the 7th inning with a sacrifice fly to score Rafael Santana with the Mets sixth run which proved to be the game winner.

#1: The double play on a bunt.  On July 22, 1986 Hernandez, famous for his stellar defense and on-field awareness, charged fearlessly when rookie Carl Willis of the Reds squared around to bunt.  Hernandez fielded the bunt on its’ first hop, threw to Gary Carter at third, who then completed an unusual 3-5-4 double play.  Keith was almost on top of the batter as the ball was bunted, and when asked by Howie Rose how he had the guts to be that close to the batter, he said, “Pete Rose was the manager and there was a rookie at the plate – I knew there was no way he would do anything but bunt”.  That epitomizes the way he played baseball: smart, fearless, talented, and competitive.

There are many who believe that Keith Hernandez belongs in Cooperstown, and I am in that camp.  He was not the typical huge, power-hitting first baseman, but his offensive numbers were strong (.296/.384/.436) and his defense added a whole new dimension to the definition of a great first baseman.  Hernandez was a five-time All-Star, a two-time World Series Champion (1982 and 1986), an 11-time Gold Glove winner, a two-time Silver Slugger winner, the 1979 NL batting champion, and the 1979 co-NL MVP.  With the evolution of advanced metrics to evaluate players from many generations, Keith’s 60.3 career rWAR and his OPS+ of 128 compare very favorably to other first basemen in the HOF.

What do you think?