Without question, Saturday was a special day in the history of the New York Mets, as Keith Hernandez was honored by becoming the sixth Met (fourth player) to have his number retired.
But once the tremendous pregame ceremony came to a close, there was baseball to be played, and it seemed like the Miami Marlins were about to spoil the party by taking a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th inning.
Down to their final out, the Mets found a way to win (thanks in part to some poor Marlins defense), and there was an almost uncanny connection to Hernandez and the 1986 Mets, who won Game 6 of the World Series on the infamous Bill Buckner play.
It was a fitting ending to a day in which the Mets celebrated a franchise icon. Afterwards, here’s what the Mets had to say about Hernandez’s lasting impact.
Buck Showalter
“It was a great day, a really proud moment for the organization to be able to embrace and show the respect that everybody has for Keith and what he’s done, also what he means now to the club and the fans as a broadcaster. Trying to get him – he’s a pretty busy man – down on the field more. We love having him around. You can tell how much the guys respect him.
“Let’s face it, sometimes that’s a reminder to our players about how great a player he was, how much those teams were embraced and people rallied around them, and how many Mets fans are dying for us to try to do the same thing. I actually thought it was great for our players to see all of that and see what our fans thought of Keith and that group … because they can follow some of their leads, hopefully.”
Brandon Nimmo
“Keith even mentioned us in his speech, you wanted to prove him right and say this is a team to be reckoned with. Definitely wanted to try and pull this one out, especially with what went on beforehand.”
Pete Alonso
“He means so much to this organization, especially for past players. He's just super-entrenched and one of those guys, when you think of Mets players and greats from the past, obviously No. 17 rings a bell.
“The boys wanted me to shave and have a mustache, and I was like ‘You know what, if the boys want it, I’ll give it to them.’ So, they wanted me to do it and I was like ‘Alright, I might as well. I’m the first baseman.’ I saw Keith in the tunnel prior and he got a pretty good kick out of it. So if I’m gonna do the mustache I might as well do the stirrups thing as well.”
Francisco Lindor
“First of all, coming out here and turning the franchise around, him and his teammates, is not an easy task. Him doing that and then taking over baseball and winning a championship, it says a lot about him – how much he hustled, how hard he played, all the Gold Gloves. People like hitting, but when you’re playing good defense and he probably saved a lot of errors from his teammates picking balls at first, it says a lot.
“What he said today in his speech, being an example as a veteran player, he embraced that and it definitely showed. I think Howie [Rose] said it, the next step is the Hall of Fame, God willing.”