They Had To Win On Keith’s Day, Right?

We look for parallels on days like this. Of course the obvious one was Pete Alonso, the first baseman who grew a mustache and wore stirrups in appreciation of Keith Hernandez (we think) on the day he got his number retired, hitting a home run for the keynote of the game. I myself thought that when Brandon Nimmo came up in the 10th inning after Tomas Nido tied the game on a well placed ground ball down the line for a double, he would have grounded one in the hole to win the game, just as Keith drove home Mookie Wilson many years ago.

But all Brandon really needed to do was make contact, and the Marlins did the rest.

THE METS WIN IT!!!!! pic.twitter.com/BFR8Jb3oUp

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 10, 2022

For all the parallels we want to look for from Keith’s days as a Met to this team, the only one you really need to be able to bank on is that this team never, ever quits … just like when Keith played. Keith stressed during his ceremony speech that he was just 1 of 25 on the roster (which isn’t the same as 25-and-1, Alex.) You want to find a parallel? The 2022 Mets, while not quite at the level of the 1986 crew (we can revisit this in October), will battle you up and down the roster. They may have guys who slump, but they had ’em in 1986 too. (You think Eduardo Escobar has it bad, check out what happened to George Foster … and I’ll take anyone in the 2022 bullpen over Randy Niemann and Doug Sisk). But both of these teams battled you until the very, very end where, at times, both teams received a little divine intervention.

Only difference in first base errors being: at least Bill Buckner tried.

In Lieu of a Hate List: A Keith Hernandez Story

Whether you were there or you saw it on television, you know that the Keith Hernandez number retirement ceremonies were a blast. Whether it was the speech itself, the unveiling of the number, the fact that Steve Cohen spared no expense to bring in all of Keith’s family and friends (as opposed to the W**pons who stopped Old Timers Day because it cost too much), or the emergence of the team out of the dugout to greet Keith after the ceremony that touched you most, it had something for everyone.

My favorite story was probably the Steve Gelbs story, abut how he felt he was struggling, and Keith had him put together a ton of facts on the Astrodome so that Keith could share them on the air. Instead, Keith surprised Gelbs by ambushing him on the air with “I know Steve has done some research on the Astrodome, Steve tell is what you know.” He set Gelbs up for success when he really needed it. Keith is still one of 25 at heart.

I have my own personal story about Keith and it’s nowhere near as cool as anyone else’s that you’ll hear. But there was a summer day in 1988 where Keith was signing autographs at the old Elks Club on Queens Boulevard. My mother told me that I could go, but I had to take my little sister with me, who at the time was seven years old. Okay, fine. She was cognizant enough to know who Keith Hernandez was and how important he was to the Mets at the time. So here I am, finally up to the first spot in line, and I give Keith the whole spiel. “I’m a big fan, you’re one of my favorites, I play first base in softball because of you.” He gave a barely audible but, in my mind, positive grunt in my direction when I told him all that, while barely looking up from the item he was signing. Remember, if I was waiting on line for an hour, then he must have been signing for two, which meant he was really exhausted.

So at that point I told him “Hey, my sister is with me and she wanted to say hello to you.” At that point, Keith made sure he looked up from his signature to look at my sister and gave her the widest smile and gave her an elongated “hiiiiiiiii”. You should have seen my sister giggle uncontrollably at that moment, and the rest of the way home. It was such a tiny gesture but the fact that he did that for her, man I didn’t even care that he barely looked up at me. He made a little girl’s day after two hours of signing autographs with a simple gesture that he didn’t have to do or could have been too tired to do. TI think my autograph cost ten bucks, but as you know, kindness is free.

The moments on the baseball field were unforgettable. But for me, what he gave to my sister was just as unforgettable. Keith, if I never get a chance to personally thank you for that, please accept this in its place.