World Sequence champion and beloved SNY analyst Keith Hernandez may have his No. 17 retired by the Mets on July 9, turning into simply the fourth participant, plus managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges, within the historical past of the franchise to be bestowed that honor. That is the second in a 10-part countdown of Hernandez’s best moments and accomplishments following his 1983 arrival in Flushing.
No. 9. These Sport-Successful Ribeye Steaks
Keith Hernandez loves to make use of that meaty description to explain runs batted in throughout Mets telecasts on SNY, and nobody totaled extra of the short-lived official MLB statistic game-winning RBIs than No. 17 with the Mets.
The stat solely was in existence formally from 1980-88, and Hernandez registered a document 129 of them over that span, together with a single-season mark of 24 for the Mets in 1985.
The five-time All-Star undoubtedly had the clutch gene, however he understands and agrees why the stat because it was constructed — it was outlined as “the RBI that provides a membership a lead it by no means relinquishes” — was discontinued.
“The 24 game-winning RBIs, that stat, I may have pushed in a run within the first inning and it’s a 10-0 recreation and I get the game-winning RBI,” Hernandez instructed The Publish this week. “I at all times felt prefer it ought to solely be from the seventh inning on, or if it’s a one-run recreation or tied and it’s a extremely significant hit.
“So I didn’t put lots of credence into that statistic, both, however actually my batting common within the clutch, late and shut conditions, was essential to me. I used to be at all times taught that. My brother Gary and I, have been taught that by my dad [John] that you must need to be up in these conditions.”
Certainly, Hernandez was a .291 profession hitter with runners in scoring place, near his total common of .297 over 17 massive league seasons. In late-and-close conditions — outlined because the seventh inning or later with the batting staff both main by one run, tied or with the potential tying run on base, on the plate or on deck — Hernandez batted .294.
Followers will recall that two of his greatest hits with the Mets (which will probably be included later within the countdown) got here in clinching video games: the ninth inning of Sport 6 of the 1986 NLCS towards Houston lefty Bob Knepper and the sixth inning of Sport 7 of the 1986 World Sequence towards Boston lefty Bruce Hurst.
“Main off an inning at all times was an at-bat I needed to bear down extra, except it was a detailed recreation and it was essential,” Hernandez mentioned. “However I used to be locked in at any time when it was an RBI scenario. If I may have my approach, each at-bat in my profession would have been with males on base.”
Post a Comment