The Mets Still Have One Massive Free Agent To Sign
I don't know about you but The New York Mets have had a great offseason. Losing deGrom was a nightmare scenario, and that quickly turned into the AL Cy Young winner in Verlander, Kodai Senga, and Jose Quintana to go with resigning Nimmo, Diaz, (potentially Correa), and shedding James McCann's sorry ass.
It's been a great winter, and the Mets are a legit World Series contender (which we also were last year and laid an egg in the playoffs, but let's not talk about that). But there is still one monster free agent to sign and he will never appear on the field or in the batter's box.
Keith Hernandez is part of the best broadcast on TV. He's smart, he's funny, he lives and breathes baseball. One minute he can have you laugh the next he can intricately describe why a runner should have advanced to second from first based on the relay throw or positioning of the fielders. He's literally brilliant. Brilliant baseball mind, and very very funny.
The best of all he meshes super well with his former teammate Ron Darling and Mets lifelong fan Gary Cohen. I'm not just saying that because I am a Mets fan. I watch a ton of MLB TV, and there's evidence SNY's team of Gary, Keith and Ron are the best in the business. The Athletic named them the best in the league recently.
Just watch some of the highlights and clips from Mets broadcasts and you can see why every night is a treat on Television. Most years the Mets are pretty bad, most summers games don't matter around July 4th, yet every year I still consider watching Mets games a delight because the broadcast is so well done. GKR mesh so well, and like I said you can learn a ton about the game, and also laugh your ass off.
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Look at how seriously he takes this stuff and his prep for the game .
As of right now he isn't signed to a deal at SNY. That has to get fixed. First off because like I said he is amazing, and the best in the sport. Second, because there's been a ton of years where the Mets sucked and Keith showed up every night and delivered great games. Funny clips, well prepared, engaged, etc.
Now the Mets are in a run where they are going to compete for a pennant, and have one of the most talented teams they have ever put on the field and Keith won't get to contribute to the broadcast on TV? Fuck that. If for nothing else, he deserves it almost as lifetime achievement. For years he put up with shitty teams, if the best one is one the field he better be in the booth.
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Lastly, he's a god damn Mets legend and the fans love him. He has his number retired this year (which was way overdue), he's one of the best players to ever put on the uniform and the fans literally adore him. If Steve Cohen, a lifelong Mets fan himself, is serious about turning the page in a new chapter of Mets ownership and wants to show the fans he's committed to excellence in every element of the team on and off the field. He will figure out a way to rectify this situation and get Keith back in the booth for a fantastic season.
It's early in negotiations and baseball is still a while away, so I'm not panicking yet, but this is a real problem if we hit February or the Super Bowl and no deal is done. Get it done SNY. Pay the man.