World Series champion and beloved SNY analyst Keith Hernandez will have his No. 17 retired by the Mets on July 9, becoming just the fourth player, plus managers Casey Stengel and Gil Hodges, in the history of the franchise to be bestowed that honor. This is the second in a 10-part countdown of Hernandez’s greatest moments and accomplishments following his 1983 arrival in Flushing.
No. 9. Those Game-Winning Ribeye Steaks
Keith Hernandez loves to use that meaty description to describe runs batted in during Mets telecasts on SNY, and no one totaled more of the short-lived official MLB statistic game-winning RBIs than No. 17 with the Mets.
The stat only was in existence officially from 1980-88, and Hernandez registered a record 129 of them over that span, including a single-season mark of 24 for the Mets in 1985.
The five-time All-Star definitely had the clutch gene, but he understands and agrees why the stat as it was constructed — it was defined as “the RBI that gives a club a lead it never relinquishes” — was discontinued.
“The 24 game-winning RBIs, that stat, I could have driven in a run in the first inning and it’s a 10-0 game and I get the game-winning RBI,” Hernandez told The Post this week. “I always felt like it should only be from the seventh inning on, or if it’s a one-run game or tied and it’s a really meaningful hit.
Keith Hernandez led the majors in game-winning hits, a stat he admits was flawed. AP Photo“So I didn’t put a lot of credence into that statistic, either, but certainly my batting average in the clutch, late and close situations, was important to me. I was always taught that. My brother Gary and I, were taught that by my dad [John] that you have to want to be up in those situations.”
Indeed, Hernandez was a .291 career hitter with runners in scoring position, close to his overall average of .297 over 17 big league seasons. In late-and-close situations — defined as the seventh inning or later with the batting team either leading by one run, tied or with the potential tying run on base, at the plate or on deck — Hernandez batted .294.
Fans will recall that two of his biggest hits with the Mets (which will be included later in the countdown) came in clinching games: the ninth inning of Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS against Houston lefty Bob Knepper and the sixth inning of Game 7 of the 1986 World Series against Boston lefty Bruce Hurst.
“Leading off an inning always was an at-bat I had to bear down more, unless it was a close game and it was very important,” Hernandez said. “But I was locked in whenever it was an RBI situation. If I could have my way, every at-bat in my career would have been with men on base.”
