Keith Hernandez Backtracks on Comments Made About Phillies Earlier in 2022 Season

The New York Mets icon says he will be rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies the rest of the way in the MLB postseason.

In August 2022, ahead of a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field, former New York Mets first baseman and current SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez said that he asked the station not to make him call games against Philadelphia because he doesn't enjoy watching them play.

"As far as fundamentally and defensively, the Phillies have always been just not up to it," Hernandez said on the Mets TV broadcast.

Naturally, the Mets legend was met with scrutiny from Phillies fans on social media due to his comments.

To that point in the season, the Mets were in first place in the National League East and had led the Phillies and Atlanta Braves in the standings all season long. New York also held a 14-5 record in the season series against Philadelphia.

By the end of September, though, the Mets had surrendered first place to the Braves, who went on to clinch their fifth-straight NL East title. The Mets were then beat by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series, thus eliminating them from the postseason race.

The Phillies, after defeating the Braves in four games in the NLDS, will now face the Padres in the NLCS, while Hernandez's Mets have already packed up their lockers for the winter.

Because this postseason hasn’t been crazy enough already, Keith Hernandez is officially on the #Phillies bandwagon pic.twitter.com/IDAOTdK51s

— D.J. Short (@djshort) October 15, 2022

Following the Phillies' clinch on Saturday, Hernandez took to Twitter to backtrack on his comments he made regarding the club earlier in the season. He gave credit to Phillies' President Dave Dombrowski and General Manager Sam Fuld for the moves made at the MLB trade deadline, and Manager Rob Thomson for the team's turnaround.

Hernandez ended his tweet with, "I'll be rooting for the Phillies the rest of the way." That surely won't sit right with Mets fans. 

What do you think, Philadelphia? Do you forgive Keith? Should we embrace his newfound Phillies fandom?

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

1. Phillies Star Bryce Harper Doesn't Hold Back on Thoughts About Joe Girardi
2. How Mike Trout Will Join the Phillies
3. Could Bryce Harper's Favorite MLB Player Join the Philadelphia Phillies Next Season?
4. Why You Should Root for the Philadelphia Phillies to Lose a Few Games
5. Phillies Release 2023 Regular Season Schedule
6. Have the Philadelphia Phillies Found Their Centerfielder of the Future?
7. Could The Phillies Soon Be Playing in Wawa Park?
8. How did Philadelphia end up with Citizens Bank Park?
9. How the Phillie Phanatic Came to be America's Favorite Sports Mascot
10. Picking the Phillies' All-Time Single Season Lineup

---

Make sure to follow Inside the Phillies on Substack and Twitter!