Keith Hernandez- After His Playing Days
Honors:
In 1991 teammate David Cone switched to uniform number 17 in Keith's honor. Other '86 Mets teammates such as Ron Darling, Bobby Ojeda & Roger McDowell all wore that uniform #17 after leaving the Mets, in his honor.
On July 9th, 2022 Keith Hernandez #17 was retired by the Mets at Citi Field.
Hernandez was elected to the NY Mets Hall of Fame in 1997. He was voted the All Time Mets First Baseman in team history & one of its top ten players ever.
Hernandez was elected to the NY Mets Hall of Fame in 1997. He was voted the All Time Mets First Baseman in team history & one of its top ten players ever.
Retirement:Honors: Although Hernandez was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame, he has never been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.
Some say he did not have enough power numbers; others say it was his history of drug use or lack of hustle during his Cardinal days.
He has been on hand for celebrations of the 1986 Championship team in 2006 & 2016.
He was on hand for the final ceremonies of Shea Stadium & events honoring Ralph Kiner, Bob Murphy, Mike Piazza, David Wright & other Mets Hall of Fame inductees.
Hernandez has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch at many important games, most recently Game #1 of the 2015 NLCS.
After his playing career he was bitter toward the game during the "steroid era". He lost respect for the game with it's inflated statistical numbers. He blamed the commissioner & the league, the players union, players & the owners.
Broadcasting: His close friend & former teammate Rusty Staub was responsible for getting Keith back into baseball & broadcasting. Hernandez began to work as a Mets broadcaster in 1999 alongside Ralph Kiner, Howie Rose, Rusty Staub, Fran Healy on Sports Chanel & MSG Networks, as well as WOR Chanel 9.In 2006 he joined up with former Mets team mate Ron Darling & broadcaster; Gary Cohen on the New SNY sports network.
He has won an Emmy Award with the trio as well as an individual one for his work at SNY. Keith is known for his wry humor, bluntness & outspoken criticism at the mike. The banter between the three has now become legendary in this generation of Mets broadcasting.
In 2017 he also joined the MLB on FOX broadcast team as a studio Analyst.Keith is loved for his wry sense of humor & his outright honesty. Fans love his sometimes controversial jokes & his outright bluntness where he tells it like it is or just how he feels, avoiding the stupidity of political correctness when its not necessary.
His style of honesty is always brings a laugh, like when he admits he has no clue what the others are talking about or more recently when he asked "What's Kirk up to these days" referring to former Met Kirk Nieuwenhuis, when he was informed, he plays for Milwaukee now. He even tried to break the monotony of a long game by faking breaking a camera lens with a high lighter.
He is famous for his multicolored score cards in the booth. He also likes to beat traffic after the ball game & hates long drawn-out games that are blow outs or meaningless. He also enjoys his time off & doesn't always like to travel.
The three broadcasters do a lot of charity work through their website for Juvenile Diabetes & Alzheimer's. Hernandez mother had battled Alzheimer's for nine years in the eighties.Drama: In 2002 he got the Mets team angry at him after saying that they had given up on their manager Bobby Valentine. He stood behind his words.
During a 2006 Mets vs Padres game at San Diego, he commented on a female trainer sitting in the dugout, saying " I won't say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don't belong in the dugout". After receiving criticism for the comments, he apologized saying: "You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there — always have."
He also got into a famous shouting match with Jose Reyes, that almost led to blows on a Mets team flight, after he criticized Reyes for lack of hustle.
The Famous Keith Moustache: Hernandez has also been widely recognized for his thick moustache, which was voted the "best sports moustache" of all time by the American Moustache Institute in 2007.In September of 2012 he shaved the famous whiskers for charity, giving him an entirely new look, although he is still loved by Mets fans.
He once said as a player, he did not use the eye black lines under his eyes to reflect the sun. He felt due to his high cheekbones the moustache itself deflected the rays. He proudly sports his classic moustache once again.
Acting: In 1992 he was part of a two part Seinfeld episode called "The Boyfriend" where he dates, Elaine (Julia Louise Dreyfus). He also appeared in the shows classic final episode in 1998.
Hernandez had appeared in a 1994 episode of Law & Order, as well as movied The Scout & The Yards. He also had a cameo as a Policeman riding in a crowded elevator in the Harrison Ford movie: the Fugitive.
Commercials: He has also made classic television commercials with basketball star; Walt Frazier in Just For Men hair coloring products. He also did Coin Gallery commercials for a Long Island based company.
Keith's Grill: Hernandez even has a hamburger stand in the outfield at Citi Field called; "Keith's Grill". Their burgers are outstanding, Keith has been known to flip a few burgers there as well as come up with recipes.
He once said as a player, he did not use the eye black lines under his eyes to reflect the sun. He felt due to his high cheekbones the moustache itself deflected the rays. He proudly sports his classic moustache once again.
Acting: In 1992 he was part of a two part Seinfeld episode called "The Boyfriend" where he dates, Elaine (Julia Louise Dreyfus). He also appeared in the shows classic final episode in 1998.Hernandez had appeared in a 1994 episode of Law & Order, as well as movied The Scout & The Yards. He also had a cameo as a Policeman riding in a crowded elevator in the Harrison Ford movie: the Fugitive.
Commercials: He has also made classic television commercials with basketball star; Walt Frazier in Just For Men hair coloring products. He also did Coin Gallery commercials for a Long Island based company.
His overall new worth has been said to be $15 million.
Author: He has also been an author of four sports books; If At First: A Season With the Mets ( a diary of the 1985 season) / Pure Baseball: Pitch by Pitch For the Advanced Fan (a detailed pitch by pitch players look into baseball) / Shea Goodbye: The Untold Story of the Historic 2008 Season & Murder At Shea ( a children's young adult murder mystery).
Personal: During his playing days he lived in a Manhattan high rise, on the East Side in the forties. Since Keith has been a long time resident of Sag Harbor, located in the Hamptons on Long Island.
Keith has two daughters from his first marriage. His second wife Kai is a 911 widow, the two married in 2004 with former Mets team mate Rusty Staub, giving her away down the aisle.
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