(Updated Dec. 31, 2017)
Keith Hernandez was a World Series hero, the best-fielding first baseman in the sport, the most consistent hitter in the Cardinals’ lineup, winner of a league Most Valuable Player Award and a fan favorite.
To Whitey Herzog, none of that made up for what the Cardinals manager considered an unforgivable sin _ lack of maximum effort.
In a trade that remains one of the most unpopular and contentious in franchise history, Hernandez was dealt to the Mets on June 15, 1983, for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.
The deal, which Mets catcher John Stearns called at the time “the biggest heist since the Thomas Crown Affair,” was made for multiple reasons, including:
_ Impending free agency. Hernandez was eligible to become a free agent after the 1983 season and Cardinals officials expressed doubt they could sign him.
_ Pitching. The Cardinals’ top two starters, Joaquin Andujar and Bob Forsch, were having subpar seasons and St. Louis still lacked a reliable replacement for departed No. 5 starter Steve Mura. “Good arms are hard to come by,” Cardinals general manager Joe McDonald said to United Press International. “If Allen was not having a bad year, there’s no way we could have gotten him.”
The primary reason, though, was the deteriorating relationship between Herzog and Hernandez.
In his book “White Rat: A Life in Baseball,” Herzog was unsparing in his criticism of Hernandez, saying:
“Keith Hernandez was dogging it … He’s the best defensive first baseman I’ve ever seen. But on offense, he was loafing. He loafed down the line on ground balls and he wasn’t aggressive on the bases.
“What I couldn’t live with was his attitude. I’ve got two basic rules _ be on time and hustle _ and he was having trouble with both of them … His practice habits were atrocious. He’d come out for batting practice, then head back to the clubhouse to smoke cigarettes and do crossword puzzles … It was getting to the point where I was fed up with him.”
Herzog began clashing with Hernandez soon after taking over as Cardinals manager in June 1980. In a game at Atlanta during Herzog’s first series as manager, Hernandez didn’t run hard on a fly ball that was dropped. “Hernandez has the ability to be among the best players in the major leagues,” Herzog told The Sporting News, “but one little thing like that can make him a bad guy for a long time. When you’re out there, run hard.”
In an interview for the book “Whitey’s Boys,” Hernandez said, “I could tell a trade was coming (in 1983) because I knew I wasn’t in Whitey’s good graces.”
Hernandez exercised a clause in his contract to block a deal to the Astros. (Speculation was the Astros agreed to swap third baseman Ray Knight and a pitcher for Hernandez.)
The deal of Hernandez to the Mets was announced at 7 p.m., an hour before the trade deadline. Hernandez was taking batting practice at Busch Stadium when he was called into Herzog’s office and informed of the trade 20 minutes before it was announced, the Associated Press reported.
Hernandez called his agent to find out whether he could block the trade. “I wasn’t shocked that I was traded,” Hernandez said. “I was shocked that it was to the Mets.”
When the deal was announced on the Busch Stadium scoreboard, fans booed.
Eight months earlier, Hernandez had produced seven hits and eight RBI in the last three games of the 1982 World Series. He sparked a Cardinals comeback in the decisive Game 7, driving in the tying run with a two-run single. He hit .299 in 10 years with St. Louis, won the 1979 National League batting title and shared the Most Valuable Player Award that year (with the Pirates’ Willie Stargell) and won five consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1978-82.
In exchange, the Cardinals got Allen (2-7, 4.50 ERA) and Ownbey (1-3, 4.67). Allen had told the Mets he thought he had an alcohol problem. Instead, he was diagnosed as suffering from stress and was undergoing therapy at a New York hospital.
The Associated Press declared the trade “a total surprise.”
Stearns spoke for many when he told Frank Dolson of Knight-Ridder Newspapers, “Were they (the Cardinals) drunk when they made that deal? I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, ‘Do they know something about Hernandez that we don’t? Is there a problem somewhere?’ ”
Turns out there was more of a problem than most knew.
In testimony two years later in a federal court case, Hernandez said he had used “massive” amounts of cocaine, starting in 1980 after he was introduced to the drug by Cardinals teammate Bernie Carbo, and had developed an “insatiable desire for more.”
Hernandez testified he broke his cocaine habit on his own just before the trade to the Mets. Hernandez said what motivated him to stop using was seeing Cardinals teammate Lonnie Smith have a “bad experience” with the drug after a game at Philadelphia.
Herzog said he didn’t know Hernandez had been using drugs, but that he had become suspicious.
Hernandez would thrive with the Mets. At the time of the trade, the Mets had the worst record in the major leagues. Hernandez helped transform them into contenders by 1984 and World Series champions in 1986.
In his book “Mookie,” Mets center fielder Mookie Wilson said of Hernandez, “One thing I didn’t envision was what kind of clubhouse presence he would bring. Even before we saw what he could do on the playing field every day, it was his mannerisms and professionalism that made him stand out. He didn’t come in with the rah-rah stuff or any glitter. Instead, it was clear that he was a student of the game and learned a lot about leadership from guys like Lou Brock and some of the other great Cardinals veterans he played with.”
Allen was 20-16 with five saves in three seasons with St. Louis. Ownbey was 1-6 in two Cardinals seasons.
Said Herzog: “People always say it’s the worst deal I’ve ever made, but I don’t believe that … Getting rid of Hernandez was addition by subtraction. I really feel that, if we had kept him, his attitude and his bull would have ruined our ball club. I know he never would have been as good for us as he has been with the Mets.”
Previously: Why Cardinals traded Tommy Herr to Twins 25 years ago
[…] called it the “Cardinals’ Curse.” What happened? And Your Answer – . June 15, 1983 Keith Hernandez was traded to the New York Mets for pitchers Neil Allen & Rick Owe… . Click out this Keith Hernandez tribute! He was sooo awesome!! . . NOW. . . .TIME FOR . […]
Too bad the deal with the Astros didn’t go through. At least the Cards would have gotten something for Hernandez. Allen was washed up and Ownbey was not very good. I wish they had sent Keith and Oberkfell to KC for George Brett as had been rumored before.
[…] after the next. First, it was his early hitting problems leading to a demotion. Then it was his clashes with Whitey Herzog leading to his trade to the Mets. Then it was the Pittsburgh drug trials where he was called to […]
[…] walks and things. In response he says “I would have been labeled a bad seed, a malcontent.” Which makes one wonder how he thinks he got traded to the Mets in the first place, but that was a long time ago so I suppose we’ll let it […]
I don’t care what Whitey says. This was an atrocious deal for the Cardinals. Truly a “panic” move by the Cardinals that continues to sully Herzog’s reputation as a baseball genius. The Mets accepted this gift and it transformed them in a perennial power – IN THE SAME DIVISION AS THE CARDINALS. GOOD GOD.
To bad that Whitey and Kieth couldn’t work things out. But then again, with the cocaine scandal on the horizon, maybe the only solution was a trade. It would be foolish to think that Whitey was clueless about the drug use that there was in clubhouse. In fact, back in the 90’s, I remember reading an interview by Whitey in which he and some of the coaching staff discovered that the players were getting that “white powder” up in Montreal. Upon this discovery, Whitey decided that everytime they had a series with the Expo’s up north, he would purposely arrive in Montreal as late as possible even if it meant that they’d barely have time to take a little BP. This is just my opinion, but the fact that the trade was terribly lop-sided and the fact that the team they traded him to was one of the worst teams at the time, just proves that there’s a lot more to this story that we still don’t know.
Thanks for the insights.
I’ve come to believe that when you make a trade for any reason other than to improve your team, then you’re making a bad deal. Even if Whitey had what he thought were good reasons to trade Keith, why would he deal him within his own division and get only a right handed set up reliever type for one of the best players in the league. This was obviously done because of a personality conflict, much like the one between Tony LaRussa and Scott Rolen. The Hernandez deal was a giveaway pure and simple. The Mets became very good and vexed the Cards for the rest of the decade.
What you say makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing.