Keith Hernandez Jul 9, 2022; New York City, New York, USA; Former New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez at the press conference for his jersey retirement ceremony at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Keith Hernandez is okay and has been located, but not before WFAN’s Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti scoured Sag Harbor for the seemingly missing New York Mets Hall of Famer.

Hernandez was scheduled to appear on ESPN’s KayRod Cast Sunday night, but didn’t show. He was scheduled to join WFAN Tuesday morning, but wasn’t responding to phone calls. Where was Keith Hernandez?

It’s not atypical for Hernandez to phone into a radio hit a few minutes late. But after missing his advertised KayRod Cast appearance and being more than 30 minutes late to his scheduled WFAN segment, Esiason and Giannotti were determined to find the popular Mets analyst.

“Should we send somebody to his house? Esiason asked. “I think we gotta send somebody over to the house. And I don’t mean to be funny here.”

Giannotti reached out to a local Southampton law enforcement person he knew to get the ball rolling on a welfare check. Hernandez lives in Sag Harbor located in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the East End of Long Island. In the meantime, WFAN’s morning show also started calling local coffee shops that Esiason, who has owns a home in East Hampton, knows Hernandez frequents.


Not only did Boomer and Gio struggle to find Hernandez, they struggled to find a barista who knew of the former Mets first baseman. After striking out at the local coffee shops, a sleepy sounding Hernandez finally phoned in about 50 minutes late.

“I must have my ringer turned off on my phone,” Hernandez said to excuse his tardiness. “The phone didn’t ring. It was a ground line you called, and it didn’t ring…I just woke up.”

Giannotti then informed Hernandez they were attempting to track him down by calling coffee shops in Sag Harbor. “I think you’re full of it,” Hernandez said in disbelief, prompting the show to replay audio of their calls for him.

But it’s good to know Hernandez is okay and accounted for and should be ready to go Tuesday night as the Mets and Yankees engage in the second Subway Series of the season. As for his no-show with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez on ESPN Sunday night, Hernandez said his Sag Harbor internet wasn’t strong enough to go on-air.

[WFAN]

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com