He’s Keith Hernandez, but not that Keith Hernandez.
Hernandez has been a bit more online since the end of the 2024 New York Mets season, and unlike his good friend Jerry Seinfeld, he isn’t calling into WFAN to mock the Yankees. Instead, Hernandez has waded into his fair share of politics, announced the death of his beloved cat, Hadji, and spoken out about how much he hates a certain photo.
A player from a bygone era, many people believe that the career .296 hitter, who shared the National League MVP with Willie Stargell in ’79 and won 11 consecutive Gold Gloves, is deserving of a Hall of Fame induction. While Cooperstown awaits ‘Mex,’ his dissatisfaction with an iconic photo cannot.
Although Hernandez waited five days to respond to a post from @nut_history on X (formerly Twitter) touting his Hall of Fame candidacy, he took great issue with the picture chosen. It’s an iconic image of Hernandez having a smoke in the dugout while holding a cigarette—circa August 1987.
37 years later, it stands the test of time.
And Hernandez absolutely loathes it.
It captures a player from a different era, one where tobacco smoke swirled freely through dugouts and clubhouses, a stark contrast to today’s stricter norms. Hernandez, who has spoken openly about his struggles with substance abuse during the 1980s, seems to view that image as a symbol of a past he’d rather not glorify.
For many, the photo represents a nostalgic, gritty version of baseball that no longer exists.
It’s a relic of the past, and Hernandez would appreciate it if the photo was, too.
“Please get rid of that photo,” Hernandez wrote. “I hate it. Surely you can replace with a better photo. Thank you.”
There are plenty of better photos of Hernandez, but perhaps none more iconic than this one.
He doesn’t seem to think so, though.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.