Hall of Famers Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza are the only other Mets players to have their numbers retired by the team.
Hours before the game, fans in No. 17 jerseys with Hernandez's name across the back stood in long lines waiting for the gates to open.
Wearing a blue suit, Hernandez said he'd been awake since 3:40 a.m. after getting a text from someone in a a different time zone. Nervous about his speech, he couldn't fall back asleep and started writing it about 8:30 a.m.He choked back tears as he mentioned his family and the glowing comments he'd read from former teammates about him in feature stories leading up to his big day.
Thanks to his personal broadcast style and entertaining appearances on"Seinfeld" and elsewhere, many Mets fans feel a unique kinship to Hernandez. He tells home-improvement stories, shares cuddly pictures of his cat, Haji, and expounds on his lengthy, traffic-filled rides on the Long Island Expressway to and from his Sag Harbor home.
A recorded message of congratulations from Jerry Seinfeld even played on the large video board in center field in the middle of the first inning. Hernandez also credits some of his clutch hitting in a Mets uniform to advice from revered brother Gary, who pumped his left arm in the air emphatically while receiving a huge ovation from the crowd as he was introduced with about a dozen members of Hernandez's family, including three daughters and two grandchildren.Hernandez has broadcast Mets games since 1999 and won three Emmys for Best Sports Analyst.
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