Just what would Keith Hernandez be most famous for? Could it be for his eleven consecutive Gold Gloves? How about his 1979 MVP? The two World Series rings, perhaps? Maybe his tenacious play as a Met? It could also be for his association with cocaine. Likely, many think of Keith Hernandez and remember that Seinfeld episode instead. Just as long as it isn’t for those terrible Just for Men commercials.
Although Keith Hernandez had a longer tenure with the Cardinals and won a World Series and MVP there, it can be easily argued that his best days were as a New York Met. He embodied the party hard, play harder attitude, and quickly became the leader of his second franchise. Hernandez did not just win Gold Gloves; he reinvented the position. It was virtually impossible to bunt on him, and his judgments on the field were rarely wrong. Hernandez was not a power hitter, but a very good contact hitter, and showed a high On Base Percentage when it wasn’t the vogue statistic to have.
What has hampered Hernandez’s Hall of Fame case was the allegations in St. Louis that he was not a hustler (mostly made by his manager, Whitey Herzog) and was a drug abuser. The latter proved to be true, though the former was accurate as well; it can only be imagined what numbers he would have put up. Keith Hernandez likely left the ballot after nine years because of those issues, but with the recent surge of sabermetrics, a look at Keith Hernandez should make him an interesting case for future consideration.
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