Monday, April 20, 2009

Mets Mustache Greats #3: Keith Hernandez

Years with Mets: 1983-1989

Let's just get this one out of the way. Hopefully Keith's enshrinement will quiet the email(s) in my inbox asking, "How have you done two Mustache Greats and not included Mex?! Blasphemy!!! You have lost any shred of credibility you may have had :("

Enough! Let me just set the record straight--Keith was far and away my favorite player when I was a young lad working my way up the ranks in the Benson Little League. There were three reasons for this:

1. He was left handed.
2. He had a cool mustache.
3. My dad bought me a Keith Hernandez signature model first base mitt (see item 1).

Yes, there were the near-MVP seasons, the first four Mets years with a .300+ average, the otherworldly defensive play, and the penchant for smoke breaks, but as a boy I thrived on trivialities.

My point is that we all know Keith was great. Now it's official. No disrespect was meant. The nasty emailer(s) can stop now. I could go on about his numbers and why he should be in the Hall of Fame, but that's for another post. Let us simply celebrate his greatness today.

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