From today’s Post, Mike Vaccaro wrote:
There has been a growing groundswell around Mets backers to finally guilt the Mets into retiring No. 17. Something that should have been done 15 years ago to acknowledge Hernandez’s singular role in converting the laughingstock Mets into the 1986 champions — before it was handed to the likes of Jose Lima and Dae-Sung Koo, among too many others.
Fans of that era revere Hernandez. They wear T-shirts now begging for 17 to be put on the wall. And yet . . . nothing.
Like so many things in Flushing I think this is a no-brainer.
I worry that as time is marching on, Tom Seaver is just some old dude that the kids kind of vaguely know was good but don’t know much about him (I would fail your Whitey Ford quiz). Â To an increasing number of fans, Keith could become that announcer guy.
If you’re old enough, you know Keith was so much more to the Mets than his staff. Â His cigarette-smoking swagger, his on-field management, his punch-you-in-the-face mentality.
He was also named The Captain.
Seen any Mets captains lately?
Let me reason with the Wilpons a different way. Â Here are some other numbers. Â 33,000. Â 26,000. Â 4 and 7.
Schedule a Keith Hernandez Day and let your fans feel good. Â You’re very close to having a revolt on your hands, and a new stadium will not save you this time.
Mets, while you’re at it, schedule Banner Day as well.  I’ll get into that in the morning, unless I wake up and see the words Bob and Melvin in the news.  Oh, and Omar is going to decide tomorrow the Mets need more offense and they are calling up Ike Davis. Here’s why.
As for the fans? Â In Vaccaro we have someone in the mainstream to lead the good fight. Â If you’ve got a blog, spread the word. Â Twitter. Â I bet we can get Joe & Evan on this. Â If it takes peer pressuring the Mets, let’s do it.
Mike’s full article is here.