QUEENS, N.Y. – On June 15, 1983, the New York Mets traded Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Keith Hernandez. The former Cardinals’ first baseman was leaving a team he had won a World Series with to join a team he didn’t want, the Mets.
He was so serious that he was even considering retirement.
“I’m an emotional guy,” Hernandez said in a phone interview with Newsday.
Despite how he felt about the trade then, Hernandez eventually would become more than what the Mets were trading for. His work with the Mets has earned him a top spot in discussions among top players ever to wear the uniform, while his post-playing career has added to his legacy with the team without even playing a game.
Now, on July 9, 2022, no one will wear his number 17 on the New York Mets again.
The Trade
Before calling Queens his home, Hernandez played 10 years with the Cardinals. During his tenure, he won a batting title in 1979, league NL MVP and a World Series championship in 1982. Hernandez grew up a Cardinals fan and envisioned playing for them for the rest of his career. Unfortunately, that dream never became a reality. In the summer of 83′, he went from the Cardinals, defending champs, to a team who hadn’t had a winning season since 1976.
It was clear that the Mets were in rebuild mode, but Hernandez wanted no part of it.
“I was reacting on emotion, on hurt, on the pain of being traded, going to the Mets, which were a last-place team. It was just a very unsettling second half of the season in ’83. It was just a tough year for me.”
After the 1983 season ended, it was another losing season for the Mets. They finished 68-94, 46-58 when Hernandez joined the team. The general manager at the time, Frank Cashen, offered to trade Hernandez after the conclusion of the season but also persuaded Hernandez to sign an extension.
“I was sitting there going, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys are horrible. Mets just stink. Ever since you traded Tom Seaver, you’ve been awful,” Hernandez recalled.
How could Cashen possibly convince Hernandez to stay? With the help of Darryl Strawberry, the winning NL Rookie of the Year, a late-season debut of Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden coming up from the minors, and the help of Hernandez’s father, John, Hernandez decided to stick around. He signed a five-year, $8.4 million extension.
The rest is history. The Mets won the World Series in 1986, still their most recent championship, and Hernandez was be named the organization’s first-ever captain in 1987.
Post Playing Career
After winning the 1986 World Series, Hernandez continued etching himself in Mets history, this time by getting inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 1997. He currently ranks third in Mets history with a .297 batting average and a team-record six of his 11 Gold Gloves in New York.
From 1996 to 2004, Hernandez was on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot. Unfortunately, he fell short of the 75% threshold.
Despite not playing on the field, Hernandez is still a big part of Mets baseball. Since 2006, he has worked with Gary Cohen and his former teammate Darling in the broadcast booth for SNY as their game analyst. Since SNY came into existence, many have labeled them as the best broadcasting team with their one-of-a-kind chemistry. Cohen’s knowledge of Mets baseball history and Darling and Hernandez’s knowledge of the game makes for a perfect announcing team.
July 9 will be a monumental day for the former first baseman. Hernandez will become just the fourth Mets player to have his number retired, which may help him get back on the ballot.
“The number retiring is something that is enormously significant, and such an honor,” Hernandez said. “Whether it turns into me getting consideration for that down the road, we’ll have to wait and see.”
