More than three decades later, Keith Hernandez is still cashing that “Magic Loogie” money.
The Mets broadcaster and legendary first baseman told SI Media’s Jimmy Traina that he still gets residual checks from his infamous appearances on the hit sitcom, “Seinfeld,” for which he guest starred for two episodes titled “The Boyfriend” parts one and two, which aired Feb. 12, 1992.
“It varies, but I can tell you that on an annual basis I’m getting close to $5,000 still. It’s the gift that keeps giving,” Hernandez said while laughing on the “SI Media Podcast.”
“Remember one thing: I was the guest star.”
Hernandez played a fictionalized version of himself in the two-part episode in which he was in a strange love triangle with Jerry Seinfeld and Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
The episodes were centered around Seinfeld and Benes fighting for Hernandez’s attention, while also adding a John F. Kennedy-style conspiracy in which Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards) and Newman (played by Wayne Knight) claim Hernandez hawked a “loogie” at him after a fictional June 14, 1987, game against the Phillies.
It was eventually determined that ex-Mets reliever and 14-year MLB veteran Roger McDowell was the real culprit of the magic loogie — not Hernandez.
Hernandez exited the show as he moves out of his Brownstone, and Benes ended her relationship with him when he lit up a cigarette on a date, which she detested.
While Hernandez only had dialogue in the two-episode arc, he did appear in the series finale in 1998, though he does not speak and is barely featured.
“The Boyfriend” episodes were a massive hit across the TV world, and writers Larry David and Larry Levin were nominated for Best Episodic Comedy by the Writers Guild of America Awards for them.
Hernandez, now a New York Emmy-winning broadcaster with SNY, began calling Mets games in 1998 alongside Gary Cohen and Ron Darling.
He recently signed a three-year contract extension with SNY, locking him up through the 2029 season.
