Keith Hernandez had zero clue that a ball almost drilled him.
During the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader between the Mets and the Orioles, Hernandez was inches away from being struck by a foul ball hit by Baltimore outfielder Cedric Mullins while in the SNY booth at Camden Yards.
“Cedric Mullins fouls one back this way,” play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen said during the seventh inning of the nightcap. “And that went right past Keith’s ear and he never saw it.”
Following the play, the camera then showed a slow-motion replay from inside the broadcasting booth, where a ball zips past Hernandez’s head while he was looking toward the ground.
Hernandez appeared to not be paying attention as he took quite some time to react to the ball that nearly hit him.
The SNY crew then shared a long laugh about the incident, with Cohen saying how the former Mets first baseman was lucky the ball missed him.
“I mean we can laugh about it now,” Cohen said. “But if that ball was just a few feet more to the left, you could’ve been done for the season.”
Hernandez interjected, “That could have been dangerous.”
“Or maybe forever,” Cohen continued. “You could have been back in the incinerator.”
Hernandez, 71, attributed the near-miss to his eyes and reflexes, which are apparently starting to slip, he said.
“My eyes are going on me and so are my reflexes,” Hernandez said.
In addition to Cohen and Hernandez, the Orioles announcers also poked fun at the incident, saying that the 17-year MLB veteran likely caught the ball.
“Well Keith Hernandez is in there, and he was a pretty good first baseman he probably caught it,” MASN’s Ben McDonald said.
McDonald then joked about how shaken up the SNY crew was, saying the pair “looked like they just called a doubleheader today.”
“We gotta get them boys some coffee over there,” the former Orioles pitcher continued.
Fellow Baltimore announcer Kevin Brown followed up with praise for the SNY booth, calling the pair “elite.”
“Those guys, and baseball fans know it, are just elite,” Brown said. “They are so fun to watch and to listen to.”
