Full disclosure, I’m a huge Keith Hernandez fan. However, retiring number 17 is not about me as a fan. It’s not even 100% about Hernandez as a player, although he’s a huge part of it. It’s about the Mets organization, and the need for something good to cling to.
Many times on this site it has been stated just what a sad state the Mets franchise is in. The product on the field may be turning around with a top five farm system, and a potential Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove winner already in New York. However, the people who truly run the team and sign the checks have rarely given the fans hope that things will turn around on a more permanent basis. I paraphrase Braveheart (for no other reason than I like that movie) “From top to bottom this [franchise] has no sense of itself. Its [owners] share allegiance with [Brooklyn]. Its [fans] war with each other. If you make enemies on both sides of the border, you’ll end up dead.” The Mets need a goodwill ambassador to usher in a renewed winning spirit. Who better to do that than Hernandez?
Obviously Hernandez was not a lifetime Met, but in this day and age that isn’t a prerequisite to honor a great player. He came to the team in 1983, after having won a World Series, an MVP award, and six Gold Gloves with the St. Louis Cardinals. Hernandez, along with the late, great Gary Carter and others, brought a winning atmosphere to the city and leadership to the field. With the Mets, Hernandez helped bring a championship to Queens, nearly won another MVP award, and collected an additional five Gold Gloves. He was gruff but beloved, and he is remembered fondly as one of the greatest Mets ever.
His stats as a Mets should stand up to criticism, too. He’s third in franchise history in Batting Average and On-Base Percentage, and ninth in Runs Batted In. His numbers hold up in advanced metrics as well, as he’s tied for fifth all-time in Adjusted OPS+, 10th in Runs Created, and has the sixth best WAR for any Mets position player. Considering he only played four full seasons in New York, that’s pretty remarkable.
Fast forward a few years, and Hernandez, along with the accomplished Ron Darling, make a wonderful pair sitting next to Gary Cohen in the Mets booth night after night. For nine years this team has been one of the best in sports broadcasting, providing fans with critiques, analysis, stories, and good cheer even during tough games.
“My score card looks like a bad acid trip.” – Hernandez
All of this has further solidified Hernandez’s place in the hearts of Mets fans. We even had a fond farewell to his mustache, for Pete’s sake!
So why is this needed now? As mentioned above, the simple fact is that many Mets fan feel betrayed by this organization. “Wait until next year” has been the team anthem for almost a decade while Bernie Madoff made off with our owners’ pride, and we play in a house dedicated to another team. Let’s not forget how painfully bare the stadium was of Mets images until the buildings second season. To add insult to injury, this 53 year old franchise has only three numbers retired from its ranks, two of those being for coaches. It all leaves a rather…stingy taste.
As the Mets show promise to become relevant again, wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate the past while still signalling toward a bright future? By honoring Hernandez, it would be a great tribute to a colorful character who’s made a lasting impact on the city. It would provide a nice historical marker for the organization, and it would acknowledge Hernandez’s impact with the team both for what he did on the field, and what he does for fans now from the booth.
Even if Hernandez isn’t your guy and you think someone else is more worthy of this honor, wouldn’t you like to see a retired number ceremony to kick of 2015? It’s not going to make the team winners, but it sets a good example that success, and particularly championships are what matters. It could help focus the team on returning to old glories. By retiring #17, it would honor a man who gave his all for the squad, and it would make a lot of people awfully happy. Now what could be wrong with that?
Whatever happens though, “I’m not driving him to the airport!”
Instead, they should just put a Mustache Logo on the outfield fence, along with the Numbers they’ve retired.
Unfortunately before our ever conspiring ownership will retire any of the ’86 Mets, they’ll do it at the end of the season to help boost attendance. Opening Day is always a sellout so there’s no incentive for them to honor any Met. I too am a Hernandez fan (still don’t understand why the team doesn’t invite to spring training to help Davis before or Duda now) but I think the Wilpons will retire Piazza’s number before they contemplate your suggestion.
The Mets have been so “stingy” with retiring numbers, I just can’t see them doing it with Hernandez. If they are going to retire a number I’d expect it to be Piazza, but even there they likely will wait until he’s elected into the Hall of Fame.
I can’t argue with it, as retired numbers have become so watered down around the game. I actually like that retiring a number actually means something for the Mets, as opposed to many other franchises, and don’t want to see them retire one “just because”.
More likely would be inducting a new class into the Mets Hall of Fame. Maybe Edgardo Alfonzo or Ron Darling or someone else like that who Mets fans love. That should have the same impact, or close to it, as it allows you to celebrate the history of the Mets, but doesn’t dilute the idea of retiring numbers.
As a player, Keith was nearly HoF. As a person, in my opinion he is somewhere near Hal Chase.
In 1988, the Ubererroth determines that Hernandez “facilitated distribution”. Are you kidding me? The two of the three greatest home grown talents are destroyed in that time period due to the use of drugs.
I’m sorry, but if you are in the room, with the gun, and someone dies? You’re frigging guilty. I hang Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry on Keith, if not for his direct actions than his indirect ones. MVP comes to your team, he’s the “team leader” and that was he is all about?
Gold glove my a$$. I would sooner stop cheering for the Mets than see his number disgrace that of Tom Seaver and Gil Hodges.
Each man makes his own choices.
Yep … when they are a man, and not a 19 year old, fully impressionable teenager in the big city for the first time.
Imagine – you come into the clubhouse, and there is a guy that was winning the MVP when you were 13 or 14.
Lite another one up, Keith, while the team is winning game 6. You can come back up the tunnel when you are finished with your Bud. Can’t you just see Keith laughing at Gary Carter behind his back with Darryl and Doc?
Sorry, Pat … this isn’t pointed at you, and I can appreciate you liking Hernandez. I just have a lot of pent up anger at the guy. He gets clean, completes his career, gets a neat shot on Seinfeld and has people talking him up about the HoF. Everything’s good and all’s forgotten.
Gooden and Straw? Ruined. I’m not forgetting.
I can’t blame Keith Hernandez for either Doc or Darryl getting involved with drugs. No gun was put to their heads. Both players have stated that Keith was a mentor to them. The drug use you’re talking about was done while Keith was with the Cardinals, hence the “Pittsburgh Seven” episode (Dale Berra, etc.). I’m not letting Keith Hernandez off unscathed, but he wasn’t the veteran who introduced Dwight Gooden to drugs at the back of an airplane. It was an unnamed team veteran (Mike Torres?), but given the leadership he provided to the young guys, I’d bet it wasn’t Keith Hernandez. By the time he became a Met his drugging days were behind him.
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If you want to swear and make personal attacks – please go somewhere else.
He’s great on TV and becoming more fascinating as we live out him incrementally losing his mind season by season (I hope its just getting old). And sure, he was a key player in ’86, but Jerry Grote makes a very persuasive above. The numbers up there are by ethereal Mets, and thats not Mex. Certainly Piazza is a candidate. But me, I would hang up #36 in honor of Jerry Koosman, a 12 year Met who lived in the shadow of Seaver, but almost had ace material, with 9 years having a ERA <3.50, 108 complete games, 26 shutouts, 1799 Ks, 2544.2 IP, 2 WS wins over 17.2 IP. Thats some amazing stuff right there.
In all honestly, I wrote this just to get the conversation going about who should be the proper Met to retire. I like Keith a lot, as he epitomizes New York in a way that some of those other players don’t. However, he wasn’t here all that long. I’m totally in agreement that Koosman should be considered. Maybe Mike Piazza and John Franco could both be honored by retiring 31. I don’t know. But the franchise does need to do something to help create a better relationship with the fans, and I don’t think this would be diluted the honor.
Not pointed at the article or anything, but an observation.
I didn’t know that the Steelers hadn’t retired a number since some guy in the 50s and 60s played, and then along came Mean Joe the other night.
Now that, that is a standard.
The franchise will not win back the fans by retiring anyone’s number. The franchise will win back the fans when the franchise becomes competitive in signing good players and stops screwing its youngsters by sitting them for fossils.
Definety John Franco’s number should be retired…………I watched him play in high school and loved him as a Met………….enough said…………
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I suggested The Stashe instead of the number for the exact reason that he didn’t have the lngevity (as a Met)….but he is now such a part of the Good Fabric that the mets have woven.
jcb I hope you can be more creative than that. In the real world not everyone will agree with each other. Your inability to express yourself clearly shows the readers your lack of finesse and intelligence. What will you do when your class mates disagree with you? Maybe the editors will simply block you forever and we will not get another opportunity to see how your education is coming along? It’s to bad we will not be seeing you at the head of the class for etiquette. But then again someone has to bring up the rear. Good luck to you and your bright future!
Cosmetic changes to hide the obvious Gus. No $. When the team starts to spend what is expected from the number one market then maybe they become relevant again. Not a single dime went to increase the payroll this past season. New national television contract for MLB doubled what teams would receive annually (from 25 to 50 million dollars) and yet the Mets found a way to reduce their payroll! Amazing! Isn’t it obvious to the average fan that the Wilpons don’t care how exasperated their fan base has become? Number one priority? Maintain control. Number two? Nothing else matters!
TexasGus what did you do or say to incur such a wrath from your fan base?
The Mets are public relations impaired.
The “Rotunda” should have been named after Hodges, the Met World Series manager who passed away while serving as manager. (no disrespect intended to Jackie Robinson, a great person in his own right.
Some sections in the left field corner should be named “Kiner’s Korner”.
There were three great players that went to a World Series with the Mets, Seaver, Hernandez and Piazza and if a franchise wants to further their tradition then they should retire #17 and #31. It is a shame that the Mets have waited so long to address 1986 and 2000.
+1
John Franco was a much better player with the Cincinnati Reds. Let them retire his number.
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but he grew up in Brooklyn, learned to play baseball in NY and I loved him as a Met closer
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