Every year, it feels like Keith Hernandez spends the offseason hemming and hawing about whether or not he’ll return to the SNY booth to call New York Mets games.
Maybe the real reason is that he’s making enough money off his Seinfeld appearance that he doesn’t need to think about working anymore.
While the former first baseman will be remembered for his efforts in helping the Mets win the 1986 World Series, he might end up being better remembered for his memorable appearance in an hour-long episode of the hit sitcom Seinfeld in 1992. In “The Boyfriend,” Hernandez played a fictionalized version of himself who ends up in a love triangle of sorts between Jerry and Eliane. Meanwhile, Kramer and Newman hold a grudge against Hernandez because he supposedly spat on them after a Mets game, a story later reconstructed in a parody of Oliver Stone’s JFK. It was later determined that a “second spitter,” relief pitcher Roger McDowell, was the true culprit.
Keith Hernandez allegedly spit on Kramer and Newman, June 14, 1987. #Mets #Seinfeld pic.twitter.com/VcGlJKDZOV
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) June 14, 2019
Hernandez joined SNY boothmates Gary Cohen and Ron Darling on the latest episode of the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, telling the host that he continues to get a pretty solid residual check from the show.
Via a brand new SI MEDIA PODCAST: Keith Hernandez reveals his yearly“Seinfeld” residuals and drops a classic line. https://t.co/cgPWGpYstS pic.twitter.com/JzTuKHOqyc
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) March 24, 2026
“It varies, but I can tell you that on an annual basis, I’m getting close to $5,000 still. It’s the gift that keeps giving,” Hernandez said while laughing. “Remember one thing: I was the guest star.”
Hernandez did return to the show in the 1998 series finale, though he didn’t have any lines, likely hurting his chances of bumping those residuals up a little more.
“The idea was, who would be the ultimate catch for me that we could do this story of Jerry trying to seduce — for lack of a better word — me wanting to be with someone I idolize or heroize or something,” Jerry Seinfeld told Rich Eisen about the infamous episode in 2024. “And for me, being a Mets fan, as you are, Keith in 1990…he was my idol; he was my hero. I loved the way he would captain the infield. He was such a great team captain.
“He, of course, had no idea what he was saying yes to,” Seinfeld explained. “That was the only day that I worked on the series that before I drove in, in my closest I changed my shirt twice. It was like a big date. I was so excited to meet him.
“And I still love the guy, by the way,” he added. “Absolutely, love the guy.”
