» June 8, 1971: Danny Goodwin is chosen as the first player in the June draft and turns down a reported $50,000 offer from the White Sox to attend Southern University. He will be chosen number one again in 1975. The Sox fail to sign 10 of their 14 picks. The Padres select P Jay Franklin with the 2nd pick. The Expos use the 4th overall pick to take 17-year-old SS Condredge Holloway, who never does play pro baseball, opting after college to play 13 seasons in the CFL. Future MVP Keith Hernandez lasts until the 42nd round (Cards). The Senators pick Dartmouth's Pete Broberg and he bypasses the minors to make his ML debut on June 20th. Other selections to jump right to the majors are the U of Texas Burt Hooton (Cubs, June 17) and MSU's Rob Ellis (Brewers, June 18).
» December 2, 1978: TSN announces the Gold Glove winners. SS Mark Belanger wins for the 8th and final time, while 1B Keith Hernandez and C Bob Boone are each honored for the first time.
» November 13, 1979: For the first time in history, two players share the MVP Award. The NL co-winners are Willie Stargell, the Pirates spiritual leader, who batted .281 with 32 home runs; and the Cardinals Keith Hernandez, who led the NL in runs (116), doubles (48), and batting (.344).
» April 18, 1981: Reds pitcher Tom Seaver strikes out Keith Hernandez in the 4th inning of a 10–4 loss to the Cardinals, becoming the 5th pitcher in ML history with 3,000 career strikeouts.
» April 12, 1983: At the Pirates home opener, Cardinals reliever Bruce Sutter is on the mound in the 8th when, with Keith Hernandez playing deep behind 1B, Pirate baserunner Bill Madlock takes a long leadoff. With Madlock distracted by Hernandez, Sutter darts off the mound and makes an unassisted put out. Sutter and the Cards are winners, 4–3.
» June 15, 1983: In what will turn out to be a terrible trade for St. Louis, the Cardinals trade 1B Keith Hernandez to the Mets for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.
» July 4, 1985: In a marathon game that borders on the surreal, the Mets endure two rain delays and 6:10 of playing time to beat the Braves 16–13 in 19 innings on Fireworks Night in Atlanta. The Mets had taken a 10–8 lead in the top of the 13th inning, only to watch the Braves tie it up. The Mets score again in the 18th, but relief hurler Rick Camp (a .060 hitter who was batting because Atlanta had no more position players available to pinch-hit) ties the score with his first ML home run on a 2-out 2-strike pitch in the bottom of the inning. No pitcher ever homered that late in a game before. Finally the Mets erupt for five runs in the 19th off Camp and Atlanta can respond only with 2. Keith Hernandez hits for the cycle for the Mets, and the game ends at 3:55 A.M. on July 5th, the latest finish in ML history. At 4:01 A.M. the post-game fireworks display begins, causing local residents to think the city is under attack.
» August 8, 1985:
Keith Hernandez has five hits in the Mets 20-hit attack as they beat the Expos, 14–7. Rick Aguilera is the winner.
» September 1, 1985: The visiting New York Mets edge San Francisco, 4–3 with Keith Hernandez's 2-run homer climaxing a 3-run 9th inning. Siske, in relief of Ed Lynch, is the winning pitcher. In the 5th, Lynch lines to right field and is thrown out 9–3 by RF Joel Youngblood. It's the National League's 2nd 9–3 putout in two months.
» September 20, 1985: A federal jury in Pittsburgh convicts Curtis Strong of 11 counts of cocaine distribution after a trial whose prosecution witnesses revealed how widely the drug problem afflicts major league baseball. Prominent players who were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony include Dave Parker, Lonnie Smith, Keith Hernandez, Jeffrey Leonard, and Tim Raines.
» February 28, 1986: In baseball's sternest disciplinary move since the Black Sox were banished for life, Commissioner Ueberroth gives seven players who were admitted drug users a choice of a year's suspension without pay or heavy fines and career-long drug testing, along with 100 hours of drug-related community service. Joaquin Andujar, Jeffrey Leonard, Enos Cabell, Keith Hernandez, Dave Parker, Dale Berra, and Lonnie Smith will be fined 10 percent of their annual salaries, while 14 other players will receive lesser penalties for their involvement with illegal drugs.
» September 3, 1986:
Pitching in the 3rd inning against the Mets, Giants rookie Terry Mulholland snags a hard grounder off Keith Hernandez but can't retrieve the ball from the webbing of his glove. Thinking fast, Mulholland runs towards first and tosses his mitt to 1B Bob Brenly for the out. The Giants come up short, losing 4–2.
» September 15, 1987: Mets 1B Keith Hernandez collects his 2,000th ML hit as New York pounds Chicago 12–4. Earlier in the day the 2nd-place Mets obtained pitcher John Candelaria from the Angels for a pair of minor leaguers.
» April 26, 1988: Keith Hernandez hits two home runs (one is a grand slam) and drives in seven runs to reach the 1,000 career RBI mark as the Mets pound the Braves 13–4.
» January 29, 1989: The game-winning RBI is dropped as an official statistic after nine years of use. The Mets Keith Hernandez is the all-time leader with 129.
» December 7, 1989: Storm Davis, 19-7 for the A's last season, signs as a free agent with the Royals. Other free-agent signees include Craig Lefferts (San Diego), Pete O'Brien (Seattle), Oil Can Boyd (Montreal), and Keith Hernandez (Cleveland).
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