Hernandez wears his dorky employee badge because he no longer self-identifies as a star. He’s no longer sitting across from Keith Richards or schmoozing with Jack Nicholson or, for that matter, being asked to play himself on Seinfeld. He lives on a quiet cul-de-sac a few blocks from the ocean. By his own happy admission, his is a world removed from his bright-lights-big-city 1980s existence. “I’m just another guy,” he says, “who likes his job and doesn’t like his commute.”
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It’s 86 miles from Southampton to Citi Field. Hernandez makes the drive to the 55 Met home games he calls each season. He tries to appreciate the beauty of the scenery. He tries to stay off his phone and within the speed limit—though one suspects that most cops in Suffolk County would glimpse that moustache and downgrade a ticket to a warning. Mostly, Hernandez is happy for the time alone with his thoughts.
On this day, though, he spends the drive in conversation, his breadth of interests on vivid display. Below are outtakes from a sprawling road trip conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity.
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SI: Bill Nack—a great SI writer—did a piece on you when you were playing, in October 1986. It starts with you saying, “I most fear boredom and loneliness, life after baseball. Life after baseball equals boredom and loneliness.”
KH: We all go through different phases. Look at me now. I never dreamed I’d be in the booth. If [when I retired as a player in 1990] someone would have asked me, ‘When you’re 63 you want to be doing 110 games broadcasting?’ I would have said, ‘Absolutely not. That’s not what I want to do.
Mets Sign Nimmo, Robertson
Keith Hernandez Signs 3-Year Deal to Return to New York Mets Booth
Keith Hernandez will be returning to the Mets booth on a three-year contract.
Pat RagazzoFeb 13, 2023 1:08 PM EST
In this story:
New York Mets
New York Mets
The band will stay together.
Keith Hernandez has re-signed with SNY to remain in the TV booth on a three-year deal.
WFAN’s Boomer Esiason first reported the news of the deal and The New York Post’s Mike Puma had the years.
This will be the 18th season that Hernandez, Gary Cohen and Ron Darling are together in the booth. This is the longest run in Mets history, as they will top the 17 years that Lindsey Nelson, Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy spent together.
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Hernandez, 69, missed out of the Mets’ stretch run and playoff push last September due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. The expectation is that he will be fully recovered for the 2023 season.
The Mets retired Hernandez’s No. 17 on July 9 of last season. He became the organization’s sixth player or manager to receive this honor.
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The former star first baseman played for the Mets from 1983-1989, helping them win the 1986 World Series.
