Review: I'm Keith Hernandez (2018)

By Keith Hernandez

For a guy who has spent almost all of his life roughly a baseball game field, Keith Hernandez is becoming a prolific writer.

He had written ii books before inwards his life, "Pure Baseball" as well as "Shea Good-Bye." Now he's dorsum amongst mass reveal three, "I'm Keith Hernandez." And it certain looks similar at that topographic point is at to the lowest degree some other i to come.

Hernandez's showtime mass was a pitch-by-pitch breakdown of a typical game, as well as it was the best i of the 3 - especially for those who wanted to larn how the game was played. The bit mass was a day-by-day work concern human relationship of the New York Mets' final flavor inwards Shea Stadium. It came across equally forgettable, peculiarly equally that twelvemonth moved farther dorsum inwards the rear-view mirror.

This novel one, though, has a much to a greater extent than interesting approach than the final one. Hernandez, a erstwhile standout showtime baseman who at in i lawsuit industrial plant equally a commentator on the Mets' telecasts, starts off this i yesteryear maxim he wanted to write a mass that was unlike than other sports stories. Therefore, he concentrates on the catamenia of his playing career betwixt when he showtime signed amongst the Cardinals as well as when he "made it" yesteryear winning a portion of the MVP abide by inwards 1979. (Hernandez as well as Willie Stargell tied inwards the voting.)

And that industrial plant quite good for the most part, to a greater extent than oft than non because of the fact that fourth dimension has allowed Hernandez to endure honest well-nigh his feelings inwards that era. We rarely notice, but real few people become far inwards the major leagues of whatever sport fully formed - a Hall of Famer from Day One. Albert Pujols as well as Mike Trout mightiness endure the best examples of that inwards baseball game inwards recent times. For mere mortals, those early years are filled amongst fits as well as starts. How the adjustments are made along the means determines how good a item player's career mightiness accept shape.

Here's an illustration of individual who didn't adjust. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 immature hockey histrion came upwardly to the NHL equally a first-round draft choice. He didn't notice instant success, as well as had a chat amongst a psychologist well-nigh how bad things were. The analyst pointed out that he was well-nigh 21 years old, making almost a i one k thousand dollars a year. In the big picture, how bad could things be? The histrion admitted that the psychologist was right, fifty-fifty if it didn't experience similar it. Too bad he never acted similar he believed it, equally he washed out of the sport after a brief, uneventful career.

In Hernandez's case, he tells well-nigh how the help of others oft gave him a boost when he needed it most. It mightiness come upwardly from a immature human being player, telling him to adapt his swing inwards a item way. It mightiness endure a coach or director who expressed confidence that Hernandez was going to endure a real skillful histrion inwards the real close future, as well as position him inwards the lineup every day. It's evident inwards the mass merely how appreciated the advice was.

Hernandez besides scores some squall for yesteryear beingness painfully honest well-nigh his behaviour inwards those years, especially the early ones inwards the majors. The temptations of sex, drugs as well as stone as well as scroll were everywhere as well as obvious inwards that fourth dimension period, as well as Hernandez pigeon into the puddle at times. 

You could struggle that Hernandez makes i good-sized fault inwards the literary sense here. The storey to a greater extent than or less ping-pongs yesteryear chapter betwixt the storey of Hernandez's evolution equally a player, as well as other areas. In the showtime business office of the book, those "odd" chapters (as opposed to "even," I guess) are spent amongst stories of his youth. But subsequently on, Hernandez moves into some strange areas, such equally analytics or broadcasting. They may endure interesting, but they experience similar they are from some other mass - such equally "Shea Goodbye."

Reading the reviews on Amazon.com are rather interesting. They read equally if some people saw the cover, idea they'd endure reading a peachy bargain inwards an autobiography well-nigh the Mets of the mid-1980s, as well as were disappointed that stories well-nigh that era were nowhere to endure found. So let's brand the squall for over again - this is non that book. You'll receive got to wait, apparently, for a review of his life equally a New York ball player.

What nosotros have, though, is pretty interesting. "I'm Keith Hernandez" reminds us at that topographic point are few curt cuts to success - it's a long route that few of us must accept to acquire to the desired destination.

Four stars

Learn to a greater extent than well-nigh this book.

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