Those who tuned into Thursday night’s game between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets probably weren’t expecting to hear a story about Keith Hernandez’s trips to the bathroom, but they got one anyway.
It started with a feature story from field reporter Steve Gelbs. When the Mets take batting practice, bench coach John Gibbons uses a suction cup, which looks like a plunger, to pick up balls on the ground. It was a gift to Gibbons from pitcher David Peterson, who was on the mound at the time Gelbs shared that story.
“Whoever thought your toilet plunger would work in baseball?” play-by-play man Gary Cohen asked after Gelbs’ report.
Hernandez knew just what to say.
“I actually had to use my plunger a couple days ago,” he replied.
“We really don’t wanna hear about that, Keith,” Cohen quickly noted in response.
“It was very effective,” Hernandez stated.
That prompted laughter from the booth. After a few seconds, Cohen had a question for his broadcast partner.
“Have you ever heard the expression, ‘TMI?'” Cohen asked.
Did Hernandez overshare here? Possibly. But we will say this. Once Keith let us know that he used his plunger, it was a relief to hear that “it was very effective.” An ineffective plunger can be a real problem.