Mets Face Tough Times, with Complications in the Broadcast Booth

It was a rough day for the New York Mets on Thursday, and things didn’t get much better in the broadcast booth.

The team lost both games of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. To add to the drama, a legendary figure associated with the franchise, just inches away, almost ended up on the injured list himself.

In the bottom of the seventh during Game 2, Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins hit a foul ball that struck the Sportsnet New York (SNY) booth.

Play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen noted that the ball “passed past Keith [Hernandez’s] ears,” and that it was unlike anything he had ever witnessed.

Hernandez, renowned as one of the best defensive first basemen—boasting 11 Gold Gloves—seemed to have missed the ball entirely. At least that’s what the SNY replay suggested. It showed Hernandez turning around only after the ball hit the wall behind him, reacting to the noise while Cohen braced himself to potentially catch it.

Cohen mentioned afterward that it was amusing in hindsight, but he added, “If that ball had been just a few feet to the left, the outcome could have been very different.” It could have been a season-ending moment.

As for the games, the Mets led 1-0 in the eighth inning of the first matchup, but their bullpen faltered, allowing the Orioles to take the lead. In the second game, Baltimore won convincingly, 7-3, erasing an early 2-0 deficit.

Over the last 25 games, the Mets have struggled with an 8-17 record, squandering a 5½ game advantage in the NL East. As they headed into Friday’s games, they were trailing the Philadelphia Phillies by 1½ games.