Ron Darling expects Keith Hernandez back at SNY: ‘No way we can do what we do without Keith’

Ron Darling isn’t worried about Keith Hernandez’s contract situation.

Hernandez’s deal with SNY expired after the 2025 season, and the Mets legend told the New York Post’s Mike Puma he’d “love to continue in the booth.” It’s not the first time Hernandez has found himself in contract limbo with SNY. His last negotiation dragged into February 2023 before he signed a three-year extension. The Wilpon family still owns the network despite selling the Mets to Steve Cohen in 2020, and past negotiations have tested Mets fans’ patience.

But Darling isn’t sweating it.

The SNY analyst is currently calling the Cubs-Brewers NLDS for TBS alongside Alex Faust. And ahead of Game 2, which the Brewers won 7-3, Darling joined Spiegel and Holmes on 670 The Score in Chicago and was asked about Hernandez’s contract situation.

“Oh, 100 percent,” Darling said when asked whether he expected Hernandez to return. “There’s no way that we can even do what we do without Keith. When Gary Cohen and I do the broadcast ourselves, it tends to get a little nerdy because we’re both a little nerdy by just who we are. And Keith lightens it up, surely.”

Darling pointed to other booths around the league that strike a balance between substance and entertainment. He mentioned Jon “Boog” Sciambi and Jim Deshaies as an example, calling them excellent at staying on point while having fun. But Darling saved his highest praise for Hernandez.

“No one entertains better than Keith Hernandez,” he said.

The chemistry between Cohen, Darling, and Hernandez has made SNY’s booth one of baseball’s best. Awful Announcing readers ranked the trio as the best booth in baseball in the 2024 local MLB announcer rankings. They came in second in this year’s rankings. The three have been calling Mets games together since SNY launched in 2006. Cohen handles play-by-play, Darling brings the pitching perspective, and Hernandez provides the entertainment.

Hernandez has talked about scaling back his workload as he approaches 72. He currently calls around 110 games per season and has mentioned cutting back to 90 or 100 games. Earlier this year, Hernandez told The Post that he hoped to follow Ralph Kiner’s path by signing another three-year deal that would allow him to gradually reduce his schedule, while giving SNY time to transition Daniel Murphy into a larger role, perhaps.

SNY has started preparing for Hernandez’s eventual departure by expanding Murphy’s role in the booth this season. But based on Darling’s comments, that day isn’t coming anytime soon.

Whether SNY and Hernandez can work out another deal quickly remains to be seen. Based on past negotiations, it could take a while. But Darling clearly isn’t worried about the outcome.