ST. LOUIS–Keith Hernandez, who won a share of the National League MVP award in 1979 and later helped the Cardinals win the franchise’s first World Series in 15 years, will be the sole 2021 inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame, the club announced Wednesday.
Hernandez, Steve Carlton, Matt Morris, Edgar Renteria and Lee Smith were all on the ballot for fan voting.
Hernandez will join the 2020 inductees, including Tommy Herr, John Tudor and Bill White, for a joint ceremony in August, as the event last year was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hernandez came up to the Cardinals in 1974 and won his first Gold Glove in 1978. In 1983, fresh off the team’s World Series victory over Milwaukee, Hernandez was clashing with then-Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog. His contract status and his substance abuse issues, which became publicized in the Pittsburgh drug trials years later, prompted a trade in 1983 to the New York Mets.
In a Zoom session with reporters Wednesday, Hernandez talked about how he became a St. Louis fan at a young age when Stan Musial would leave tickets for his family on road trips through San Francisco. His father served in the Navy with Musial in World War II.
“I know the history of the Cardinals, 11 World Championships, second only to the Yankees, they are the benchmark in the National League, and to be part of the Hall of Fame and all the great players, the tradition of the Cardinals is just a tremendous honor,” he said.
With Wednesday’s announcement, Hernandez is now a member of the Hall of Fame for both the Mets and Cardinals.
