Book Review: I'm Keith Hernandez

I'm Keith Hernandez by Keith Hernandez

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Brilliant marketing on this book by putting Keith in his Mets uniform on the cover. Because this book isn't at all about the Mets, it's about Keith Hernandez's journey in the Cardinals minor league system and follows him to the Spring of 1980 (following his 1979 NL co-MVP season).

Let's face it, not even diehard Cardinal fans are going to buy a book about the Ken Reitz/Ted Simmons/Garry Templeton years. Even with some Lou Brock content, which will make you appreciate him even more, and a very quick Bob Gibson aside. Otherwise, these are some low years for that storied franchise.

In any case, I am not disappointed at all. Keith is an on-air analyst for the Mets and without a doubt, a great baseball mind. One of the reasons the Mets are still enjoyable to watch even during a blowout.

In the intro, Keith says this is not going to be an ordinary memoir, but as the Kirkus Review rebutted, it really is. It's pretty straight, though Keith effectively gets to throw in some anecdotes and flashes back and forth to his day job. That part is maybe a quarter of the book, if you are a Mets fan, though the there isn't much; a few allusions to Matt Harvey's struggles.

That said, if you are a Mets fan and know Keith, you might appreciate if you are going to hear any baseball player tell his story, it might as well be someone with a keen instinct and humor as Keith.

The book mainly talks about his journey through the minors, so you get some of the father-son-brother relationship, some pre-minor league childhood memories, some fundamentals and then some keen observation on the stars of the 70s like Brock, Pete Rose, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, and many others whose names you may not have heard in years.

That to me, is fascinating, and with Keith, it's insight, not name dropping. He also gives modern commentary on the game invoking Rose and Ted Williams. Keith doesn't sound like "old cranky guy", he has some valid points.

This being Keith, there's some Boutonesque moments, and a light amount of sex, drugs and rock n roll. Just enough, that you probably wouldn't give this to a child of an impressionable age, though the baseball fundamentals are sound. Also, it's fairly tame, from what we know of Keith's reputation.

Still, that means we get things like Keith meeting Roger Waters. All of this told with Keith's keen eye, means it's a pretty fun book and quick read. When the list of great baseball books is compiled, this might not be on it, but I have to say it was well into my expectations of a Summer Read, and like watching a SNY broadcast, it's one of the better things you can do on a lazy Sunday afternoon.



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