Kai Hernandez

I get a lot of compliments on my lady, yes, my lady.

Kai Thompson Hernandez--I never get tired of saying that.

She is smart, beautiful, talented, and yes, maybe even a little out of my league.

But you know what? I'm Keith Hernandez!

So here's my advice to all you kiddies out there--keep working hard, never stop being who you are, and someday, yes, someday, you too can have a lovely lady or handsome guy on your right arm......

Just like me--Keith Hernandez.

--Keith

Mr. Met Has a Chuckle

Hey Kiddies....look at this!

10 Questions with Jay Horwitz, Mets Vice-President of Media Relations

Most Mets fans have dreamed at one time or another about working or playing for the team. One such fan, the well-respected and beloved Jay Horwitz, now a Mets Vice-President, sat down with us for 10 questions.

Jay, thank you so much for taking some time from your busy schedule to join us. You've been with the Mets for, I believe, 29 years. How did you get started in the baseball business?

I was the Sports Information Director at New York University for three years and then at Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey for eight years. When ownership changed with the Mets in 1980 someone recommended me for the job, and I have been here ever since.

As Media Director for one of the most popular teams in all of sports, on the world's largest stage, what is a typical day like for you?

I usually get here about seven in the morning, read the papers, make calls, go down to the lockeroom, set up interviews, etc. I then watch the game, let the press know of any records that are set and go to the lockeroom at the end of the game.

How do you and your staff handle adversity? I'm talking specifically about some of the incidents that have happened with the Mets over the years, Vince Coleman, the collapse, Lastings rap album, managerial firings, etc.

Never lie. You can’t lie in New York with all the exposure here. Be up front with people even in the worst of times.

Can you describe the organizational ebb and flow over the roller coaster that is a 162 game season? Is it more even keeled then we'd imagine?

You can’t get up with each win or down with each loss. It’s a marathon, and that’s the way you have to look at things.

We're all such big fans of the guys in the Mets booth—Is this your favorite announcing crew after the Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner trio?

They all are great guys. Bob Murphy was the nicest person I ever met. Ralph Kiner is a super guy too.

As we near the end of the Shea Stadium era, can you think back over your long tenure with the Mets and tell us what your favorite memory is of the Stadium?

Mookie’s ground ball that got through Bill Buckner’s legs in 1986.

A little birdie told me you are also a huge Giants fan, as are most of my readers. I thought the Giants handled the post-Super Bowl parades, interviews, etc extremely well. Is that a PR Director's dream?

I have had season’s tickets for the Giants since 1958. I thought Eli handled all the adversity well as did the entire team. Good players make it very easy for a PR Director.

What advice would you give to someone interested in sports and public relations as a career? I'm sure the competition for positions is fierce.

You can’t be a clockwatcher. You have to be ready to work long hours and give up a lot of your social life.

One of the highlights of the season was seeing you in that orange sportcoat. Can you tell us how that came about? Are you the original owner?

Johann Santana asked me to wear it for good luck. We were 3-1 with the coat. The coat originally belonged to Jeremy Burnitz.

Last question, so I'll put you on the spot—give us your fearless prediction for the rest of 2008:

I have a good feeling for this year. I think we are going to play very deep into October

Thanks Jay! We really appreciate your time, and the great job you and your staff do for the writers, fans, and everyone associated with the New York Mets.

Carlos Beltran's Catch

"Oh my Gary, that is as good as it gets.

That is a beautiful play.

This is JUST as good as it gets.

That is a spectacular play.

That is a showstopper right there."

Three Things Keith Hernandez Taught Me About Pitching

by John Walsh
Hardball Times

If you are interested in pitching—really interested, I mean—you simply have to read Pure Baseball by Keith Hernandez (with help from Mike Bryan on grammar and spelling and stuff). And when I say interested in pitching, I don't mean you know who won the last five Cy Young Awards or even who had the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the American League last year. Rather, I mean you want to know not only what that last pitch was and how it moved, you want to understand why it was thrown, why it worked or why it didn't.

The subtitle of Hernandez's book is "A pitch-by-pitch guide for the advanced fan," and that is a good description. Hernandez goes through two games from the 1993 season, almost (but not quite) at the pitch level. That's not to say that the book is only about pitching—Hernandez holds forth on many questions of baseball tactics here, including base stealing, bunting, hit-and-running, productive outs, defensive alignments and many others.

But what really fascinates about this book is getting an insider's perspective on pitching and the batter-pitcher confrontation. Hernandez was clearly a "cerebral" ballplayer, a guy who was always thinking, thinking trying to get an edge. There was nothing "see ball, hit ball" about Keith Hernandez.

So, what did Keith Hernandez teach me about pitching? Well, as some of you may know, I've been working with the PITCHf/x data, which has allowed us to study pitching at a level of detail that was almost unimaginable not very long ago. So, what I'm most interested in is pitches—what are the different pitch types, what distinguishes one from the other, and how are they used differently?

I've written quite a bit about pitch types already, so I thought I knew quite a bit, but ol' Keith showed me a thing or two (which is so unsurprising, it's not even funny).

The tailing fastball

One of the first things I learned from studying the PITCHf/x data is that fastballs typically move quite a bit to the side. Nobody much talks about this. Actually, that's not true, the other day I happened to catch Brandon Webb's start against the Mets and one of the broadcasters mentioned Webb's sinker that "moves in on a right-handed hitter."

That's true, Webb's sinker (which is a kind of fastball) moves sideways, towards a right-handed hitter, about nine inches. And Dan Haren's fastball moves in the same direction by six inches. John Maine? Eight inches in on a right-handed batter. Just about all right-handed fastballs move in an a right-handed hitter (and likewise, lefty fastballs move the other way—away from a right-handed batter).

Hernandez, in his book, tells us something important about the typical tailing action of a fastball: It makes it difficult to come inside to the opposite-hand hitter. Actually, Hernandez is discussing Phillies left-hander Danny Jackson, who had quite a bit of tail on his fastball. When Jackson throws to a right-handed batter, the fastball tends to tail away from the hitter.

That's great for pitching outside, but it makes it hard to pitch on the inside corner, as the ball tends to drift out over the heart of the plate. Here's Keith:

After thirteen pitches tonight in Philadelphia, Danny Jackson hasn't come inside one time. One reason is that his fastball tends to run away from these right-handed Braves hitters. If that pitch does not start out three or four inches inside, if instead it starts out over the inside corner, it will run toward the middle of the plate and right onto the barrel of the bat.

For the rest of this outstanding piece by John Walsh, please visit the Hardball Times.

Is High Cheddar a Steroid?

During one of my recent walks in the Hamptons out on Long Island, a young lad in a Yankee cap came up to me and asked me about steroids. He told me he wasn't sure what they were or what the word even meant.

He was concerned about some of his favorite players, namely Roger Clemens and Jason Giambi, and what impact steroids would have on their chances for the Hall of Fame.

He noticed I was snacking on a wheel of cheese and asked me innocently, "Mr Hernandez, is cheese a steroid?"

I thought to myself, "what a great question!" I tore off a hunk of the cheese, autographed it for him, and sent the kid on his way.

Let me clear up any misconceptions kiddies and tell you right now that High Cheddar is not a steroid, but it is a drug....a fascinating drug.

You stand in the box, absolutely mesmerized, and you just see this pill, or 'fastball' coming at you at 98 mph....let me tell you it's a rush like no other.

So no Mets fans, High Cheddar is not a steroid, but it does act like a drug.

Did you see that moon Gary? That's something else that has been compared to cheese.

--Keith

My Favorite Meal

Rib Eye Steaks
High Cheddar
Coors
Tootsie Roll Blowpops
More High Cheddar
Full Arm Soak (in Coors)
Pine Tar Sandwich

-- Keith

Keith Hernandez Mania Continues

This morning there was a great article in the NY Post about the impact Keith continues to have on Mets fans all over.

We here at What Would Keith Do and NY Sports Dog see this every day.

So what is it really about Keith that draws fans to him?

Charm, wit, humor, ego combined with the ability to laugh at himself....it's all that and more.

Look, we all love Tom Seaver, revere Cleon Jones and Tommy Agee, have Mookie Wilson, Mike Piazza and Doc Gooden in our hearts, but at the end of the day it's Keith.

Mike Piazza was an incredible Met, but he was very low key, and we didn't win a World Series while he was here.

Tom Seaver is the original Mr Met....a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest pitchers of all-time...personally Seaver is my favorite Met.

But still, there is something about Keith....the wit, the ability to connect with the fans, the World Series he brought us, and the love he has for the Mets to this day.

While Seaver was broadcasting Yankee games and building a vineyard, Keith was in our hearts. When Seaver comes into the booth and talks you just don't feel the same connection that you do with Keith.

Keith Hernandez is a Mets icon--maybe THE Mets icon.

We salute you Keith....just keep being you.

Keith Thinks the Mets Can be Cured With a Nut Shot

"It's all about distractions" said Keith, "You soak your arm in a cold Coors, eat some high chedder, then take a nut shot....it worked for Ronnie and I."



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Gary Carter Apologizes to Keith: Watch the Video

Well, here's Gary Carter commenting on what Keith Hernandez had to say about Gary being "unconscious" on the Mike and Mike show.