Keith Hernandez Gets Feisty With Vic Black On Twitter

by Nick Giacone August 17, 2018

Keith’s making waves with his words again, standing firm on his belief that it’s ok for a pitcher to throw inside at a hot hitter. His initial commentary stems from Marlins Pitcher Jose Urena’s beaning of Braves OF Ronald Acuna, Jr. during their Wednesday night showdown, which prompted an injury scare for Acuna and a suspension for Urena.

Braves fans please advise. pic.twitter.com/LDHsVPfjDN
— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) August 16, 2018

Acuna entered the game swinging a scorching-hot bat, having hit six HRs in his previous five games. Keith justified Acuna’s plunking on air, and then further clarified his comments with SNY’s Doug Williams:

.@keithhernandez talks with @DougWilliamsSNY about last night's comments on Acuña, Ureña and the idea of throwing inside

Read More: https://t.co/x4QvnJ9Ozf pic.twitter.com/twH3m6j25g
— SportsNet New York (@SNYtv) August 16, 2018

His video stirred up a slew of animated replies, but most notable was former Mets pitcher Vic Black. Vic disagrees with Keith, and suggests that a pitcher like Nolan Ryan would have handled the situation differently. Keith promptly doubled-down, reminding Vic of who he was talking about:

Hey Victor. You’re showing your ignorance. Nolan would drop you in a NY minute if you dropped a bunt on him or took a big swing. I should know. I competed against him for the greater part of my career. So stop spreading BS. You don’t know what your talking about.
— keith Hernandez (@keithhernandez) August 17, 2018

The unwritten rules of baseball are always a polarizing topic. Keith’s as old-school as it comes, and this serves as another reminder that he played in a different era of the MLB. Throwing at a hitter who’s on a tear is nothing new, but it certainly is becoming less accepted in this day and age. We all loved when Syndergaard threw above Alcides Escobar in Game 3 of the World Series. We’ve all called for every Mets pitcher to pipe one in Utley’s earhole at some point in time. How are those situations any different?

Keith’s Twitter presence has been a gem of entertainment, but now he’s using the platform for a good ol’ fashioned hot take. Way to stand firm and welcome to #MetsTwitter, Keith!