Hernandez batted over .300 seven times in his career, and led the National League in runs scored (1979 & 1980), batting avg (1979), doubles (1979), on-base percentage (1980) and walks (1986) throughout his career. He also won 11 Gold Glove awards for his glovework at first base, setting a Major League record for the position that still stands. He won an MVP award, and played on 2 World Series champions, one of whom he was the co-captain of. He is the all time Game-winning RBI leader, and in 1985 set the single season record for this stat as well (this statistic was kept between 1980 and 1988). However, he never received enough support from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2004, after nine years on the ballot, he received votes from fewer than 5% of the writers, thus ending his eligibility. Hernandez has been eligible for consideration for induction by the Veterans Committee since 2011 (20 years after his retirement) but has yet to be inducted. It's been said that the two issues that have hampered him was his occasional perceived lack of hustle as a Cardinal, and his public history of drug use. Some also say that as a first baseman, he did not display the power numbers expected of the position. That last issue almost certainly colored Hernandez's candidacy in a negative way during the steroid era, when outrageous power statistics became the norm, however, it can be disputed that Hernandez did not play during the steroid era, with the era starting in the very late 1980s and Keith Hernandez's retirement from baseball after the 1990 MLB Season. However, it can also be argued that first base already had a reputation as a power-hitting position, with Hernandez's career overlapping that of slugging first basemen like Willie McCovey, Eddie Murray, and Tony Perez. First base's reputation as a power-hitting position may have also made Hernandez's stellar defense at the position less of an asset, as sluggers who can't field are generally moved to first—among players who have won at least 10 Gold Gloves, first base and pitcher are the only positions to have players with 10 or more Gold Gloves who are either not in the Hall of Fame, currently on the BBWAA ballot, or not yet eligible. Hernandez was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1997, and was voted the Mets' all-time first baseman by fans in celebration of the team's 40th anniversary in 2002. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mets, Hernandez was selected as the Mets all-time first baseman by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters that included Marty Noble, Mike Lupica, Gary Cohen, Howie Rose among others. In the event held on June 17, 2012, Hernandez recalled how he first was upset by the trade to New York but soon acknowledged it as a refreshing change and said it "reenergized" him because of the "young talent, young guys that were hungry".
Keith Hernandez Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family
|
