Tuesday, July 28, 2015

DEDICATED "ROOKIE CARDS" #14: 1975 KEITH HERNANDEZ

It feels like I haven't done a "Dedicated Rookie" in a long while, so allow me to present my 1975 dedicated rookie card for perennial Gold Glove first baseman Keith Hernandez:


Hernandez was just about to launch his stellar Major League career in 1975 after playing in 14 games during the 1974 season.
Topps gave him a spot on one of the multi-player rookie cards in the 1975 set, but a dedicated card for him seems like a natural for this blog.
As far as his career, all he would do from then on is win a batting title in 1979, a co-MVP Award the very same year (sharing it with Pirate legend Willie Stargell), take home 11 Gold Glove Awards for his magic at first base, and get named to five all-star games.
He was part of a World Champion team with both the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and the New York Mets in 1986, and would finish his 17-year career with over 2000 hits, 1000 runs scored, 1000 runs batted in and a .296 average.
He became an instant darling here in New York to so many kids when he arrived during the 1983 season, and I have to admit even though I was a rabid Yankee fan and WORSHIPPED Don Mattingly, Hernandez was a guy I just had to like no matter what.
It just seemed that it was the Hernandez trade that got the mid-80's Mets team going in the right direction, soon to be joined by the likes of Cone, Gooden, Carter and crew.

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