A little back surgery couldn’t keep Keith Hernandez from the SNY booth for very long.
The New York Mets legend was back in the booth Monday for the first time since early April, when he announced he was going to have back surgery that would keep him away for a few road trips. While he was initially expected to return on April 24, the Mets Hall-of-Fame first-baseman pushed it back to this series against the Colorado Rockies.
The 72-year-old was shown walking with a cane as he entered the broadcast booth at Denver’s Coors Field. Upon realizing he was being filmed, he held the cane in a batting stance and said, “I’m back, and I can still swing it.”
“When you’re on anesthesia, the time flies!”
Keith Hernandez is back. And we rolled out the red carpet and all the fixings 😂 pic.twitter.com/BWaRbTPnYL
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 4, 2026
In the booth, he was greeted by festive balloons and an appreciative announcing partner in Gary Cohen.
“I am that old Simon and Garfunkel song, ‘Gee, it’s great to be back home.’ Home is where I want to be, right with you in the booth, Gare,” said Hernandez, who also shared details of the surgery that kept him away from the booth.
“It was a four-hour surgery… They cleaned it out,” he said. “I’ll say one thing: When you’re on anesthesia, the time flies.”
Hernandez’s return got off to an inauspicious start when his monitor went down during SNY’s lineup introductions, leaving him in the lurch as to who was playing where for the Rockies.
Keith couldn’t read the defense because his monitor wasn’t working 😂
Welcome back Keith 😂 pic.twitter.com/woVSuWJbHz
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 4, 2026
Cohen and Hernandez took some time to pay tribute to John Sterling, the longtime Yankees announcer who died on Monday.
Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez pay tribute to the life of John Sterling pic.twitter.com/a8eAYcx8hF
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 4, 2026
For some reason, the “You Are Special” balloon behind Hernandez kept bopping him in the head during the broadcast, and Cohen could hardly contain the laughter as Keith attempted to power through.
Gare is getting a big kick out of Keith’s “you are special” balloon hitting him in the head 😂 pic.twitter.com/3wBvYE7ODV
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 4, 2026
It was a true return to form for the Mets icon.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.