Mets, Orioles booths have hilarious reactions to foul ball nearly hitting unsuspecting Keith Hernandez

A foul ball during Game 2 of the doubleheader between the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles found its way into the visiting announcer’s booth, occupied by Mets announcers Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, calling the game on SNY. It was a source of great humor for not just Cohen and Hernandez but also their counterparts, Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald, calling the game for the Orioles on MASN.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins fouled off the first pitch he saw from New York’s Rico Garcia.

“Oh, it ticked the Mets booth,” Brown said.

“Well, Keith Hernandez is in there, and he was a pretty good first baseman,” McDonald replied. “He probably caught it.”

But when the MASN cameras focused on the SNY booth, Cohen and Hernandez looked “completely nonplussed,” as Brown put it.

“They look like they just called a doubleheader today,” McDonald said, prompting laughter from both he and Brown. “We gotta get them boys some coffee, over there.”

“Keith, as casual as can be,” Brown said. “All of the Met fans down below and some of the Oriole fans, too, are cheering for the baseball.”

“I don’t even know if Keith knows that ball went in the booth,” McDonald remarked.

As the conversation continued, Brown praised the work of the Mets announcers, saying, “Those guys, and baseball fans know it, are just elite. They are so fun to watch and to listen to.”

A foul ball landed in the SNY Mets booth in Baltimore.

MASN’s Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald proceeded to poke fun at Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez (along with Brown offering praise for how “elite” they are). ⚾️🎙️#MLB pic.twitter.com/euwxssgjpn

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 10, 2025

Indeed, baseball fans do know it.

So, what did the foul ball look and sound like in the SNY booth? While he seemingly made the remark in jest, McDonald’s theory that Hernandez didn’t even know a foul ball went into the booth was on the money.

“Cedric Mullins fouls one back this way,” Cohen said. “That went right past Keith’s ear, and he never saw it.”

A replay of the booth’s reaction to the foul ball was then shown. The ball sailed just past Hernandez’s right ear without him knowing. It wasn’t until the ball landed behind him that Hernandez reacted — and what a reaction it was.

Keith Hernandez’s reaction to almost getting hit by a foul ball was hilarious on the SNY Mets broadcast. ⚾️🎙️ #MLB pic.twitter.com/jGGEVZVAP2 https://t.co/1G2o5meQ6R

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 10, 2025

A clearly startled Hernandez flinched, looked back, then turned around to face the field again. Both Cohen and Hernandez cracked up seeing the reaction.

“We can laugh about it now. But if that ball had been just a few feet to the left, you could have been done for the season. Or maybe forever. You could have been back in the incinerator,” Cohen joked, referencing a conversation from earlier in the game.

“That could have been dangerous,” Hernandez replied. “My eyes are going on me. And my reflexes.”

“Oh, that one’s going viral,” Cohen said. “You know that.”

“It’s just, we never get a ball up here,” Hernandez said. “Never.”

Cohen and Hernandez laughed again after the SNY broadcast showed the replay one more time.

“That one’s gonna live forever,” Cohen said.

We can’t argue.