Should Cooperstown Call: Keith Hernandez
How much do you value defense? How much do you value first base defense? This is the question which surrounds Keith Hernandez’ Hall of Fame case. Keith Hernandez has a quality bat, and his WAR is above 60. But the main argument rests with his defense.
Hernandez was a lefty, and lefties could only at in the outfield, on the mound, or at first base. Hernandez certainly had a quality arm, but couldn't cut it in the outfield so he got to handle first base. And normally first base is where the players too old for other positions play, and where the power hitters reside. Hernandez wasn't a power hitter, so he isn't going to show up well in comparison to, say Mark McGwire.
But for what Hernandez may lose from his (very good) bat, he gains from his glove. Hernandez’s glove being on his right hand gave him a tremendous to scoop balls out from the dirt. Hernandez’s cannon for an arm allowed him to throw out lead runners. During a bunt, Hernandez covered his area and the mound. Right when there was contact, Hernandez was there. He helped out the second baseman by being able to cover more ground on the right side of the infield, allowing him to play closer to the bag for double plays.
However that wasn't all Hernandez could do. He was like a pitching coach at first. He helped out the catchers on the Mets when there were mound meetings. Hernandez won 11 gold gloves while at first, and is the premier glove man at the position. He, along with Don Mattingly who was with the Yankees, gave both New York teams the best defensive first basemen in the leagues during the mid 1980s (Hernandez was better).
Hernandez was co-MVP in 1979 with Willie Stargell, who was playing at the peak of his Hall of Fame level. Hernandez also helped the 1986 Mets win the World Series over the Boston Red Sox. He, Gary Carter, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden formed the core of the team, who beat former Mets Tom Seaver, Calvin Schiraldi and Al Nipper in the World Series, although Seaver was injured and did not make an appearance.
Keith Hernandez had a quality bat, 128 OPS+ (park and league adjusted On Base plus Slugging). As a first baseman, that's not particularly bad, but not inner ring Hall of Fame. But Hernandez was a quality baserunner, and the best defensive first baseman ever. First basemen generally have a negative dWar, but his is positive (0.6), even after positional adjustments. He was THAT good. He had 11 gold gloves and 5 all star appearances. He hit 296/384/436, with 2182 hits, 162 Home Runs, 1124 runs, 1071 RBI and 98 Stolen Bases.
My opinion on it? He doesn't have the highest peak not most longevity, but he should be in the Hall. He's not a Lou Gehrig or Willie McCovey, but fits in well with the average, slightly above or below, Hall of Famers. And as I end the post, lets end it with Keith Hernandez tagging out an Expos runner.
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