While you would think a member of the 1986 Mets might favor strawberries as their fruit of choice — after all, Darryl Strawberry was a huge part of that championship team — former New York Mets All-Star Keith Hernandez was more interested in the fruit juices that were available to him when he was a special guest at this year’s New York Produce Show and Conference.
“I don’t particularly have a favorite, but fruits and vegetables are important to any athlete,” said Hernandez. “The show is very interesting. I didn’t realize that there was so much to know about produce or so many different things available.”
But Hernandez wasn’t there to talk produce, and a line of attendees at the show were peppering him with questions about his time in the big leagues, the championship ’86 team, and his career now as a member of the Mets’ broadcast booth.
Widely regarded as one of the baseball’s greatest defensive players, he also batted .296 during a career that ran from 1974 to 1990, and he was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1979, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
These days, he enjoys announcing for the Mets and following the team.
“Last year was an exciting one for the Mets,” he said. “They had a great young team and gave the people of New York something to be excited about in the playoffs.”
Hernandez doesn’t see why next year’s team couldn’t be just as good, and win those couple of extra games that will get the team to another World Series championship. As long as their pitching stays healthy — especially Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard — he can see them winning it all.
“They just have to stay off the DL,” he said. “They have put together a solid team, and it all begins with health.”
Source: PerishableNews.com
