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New York Baseball: Ranking the City’s Best Broadcasters

By Steve Contursi

Sep 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A fan watches from the second-to-last row of the stadium during the first inning of a game between the New York Mets and the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A fan watches from the second-to-last row of the stadium during the first inning of a game between the New York Mets and the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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#2  Keith Hernandez 

Like many of his contemporaries as baseball broadcasters, Keith Hernandez had a stellar career as a first baseman in the National League first with the Cardinals and then with the glory years of the mid-eighties Mets team.

He was as irreverent as a player as he is now as a broadcaster and that’s what makes him so special. He adapted well to the fast pace of life in the Big City, had the good looks that charmed all the ladies, and by his own admission did massive amounts of cocaine in the Eighties.

I only mention this to emphasize the fact that Hernandez is not just irreverent, he’s totally irreverent. Once, spotting a female in the stands, he casually remarked, “I’m not talking about the hot dog “. Again, seeing a female in the Padres dugout, his take was, “I’m not gonna say she belongs in the kitchen, but she certainly doesn’t belong in the dugout. Noticeably, his partners in the booth remained silent.

What separates Hernandez from the rest though is his ability to transfer that irreverence to the game as it’s being played on the field. As far back as 2002 when the Mets TV home was MSG, Hernandez pulled no punches. Quoted by Bob Reissman, the media commentator for the Daily News, Hernandez said “the club has no heart” and that it “quit a long time ago.” Mike Piazza spit back immediately. calling Hernandez “clueless” and “a voice from the grave.”  Under pressure from MSG, Hernandez was forced to apologize, even though he probably had a valid point at the time.

Many years later, he didn’t hesitate to call out the Mets hitting instructor, Dave Hudgens, on the air because he felt that hitters were taking too many pitches and not being aggressive enough. Remember, this comes from a former NL batting champion. Nevertheless, Hudgens fired back, “What’s wrong with getting a good pitch to hit? I just shake my head at the old-school guys that have it all figured out.” Old school guys, huh. By no coincidence though, Hudgens was fired by the Mets.

This is what you should want from a “color commentator” like Hernandez. We don’t need black and white that comes with the old style “Well, it’s sure been a tough day for our shortstop, hasn’t it?” after the guy strikes out four times. What good is that?

There should be no question that Hernandez belongs on this list.

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