Mets great and SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez had to go to the emergency room to get eight stitches in his big toe after falling off the edge of his hot tub while doing yard work at his Sag Harbor home, Gary Cohen revealed during Monday’s Mets-Brewers broadcast.
"The way I understand it is, [Hernandez] was standing on the edge of his hot tub with pruning shears, pruning his roses, and he might’ve taken a bit of a tumble, grabbed for something on his way down that did not support him, and took a rather hard fall," Cohen said. "I am told that there was a trip to the emergency room and there were eight stitches in his big toe. So I don’t know if he’s gonna be in a wheelchair or if he’s gonna be on crutches."
Cohen indicated Hernandez would be back in the booth on Thursday.
SNY worked up a cartoon of Hernandez in a hospital bed with his foot wrapped up and Mr. and Mrs. Met standing at his bedside. A photo of Hernandez on "Seinfeld" hung over the bed.
Given that Hernandez’s injuries weren’t more serious, Cohen and Ron Darling were able to have a laugh after Cohen asked SNY Mets producer Gregg Picker whether Hernandez wanted his broadcast colleagues to tell the story of his fall on the air.
"Gregg said, ‘Well, what Keith said was, that if the guys want to talk about it, it’s OK,’ " Cohen said. "The kicker was when Keith said, ‘You know, I’m not sure I want them to talk about it because I don’t always want it to be about me."
"Come on," Ron Darling replied. "That’s hilarious."
"If there was ever a more un-self-aware quote — Keith, it’s always about you! And we like it that way," Cohen added.