Keith Hernandez and Buck Showalter have been around baseball their entire lives and are now connected with the Mets as broadcaster and manager, respectively.
But that’s not the only bond the two men share, and during the Mets’ Spring Training game against the Cardinals on Sunday, SNY’s Steve Gelbs decided to ask Showalter the question on everyone’s minds: Did Buck or Keith have the better guest spot on “Seinfeld?”
Instead of answering the question, Showalter immediately lamented the fact that since he had to become a member of the Screen Actors Guild to do the episode, he still gets taxed $19 every time his episode -- 1994’s “The Chaperone” -- airs on TV.
While Hernandez appeared in multiple Seinfeld episodes, most famously as Elaine Benes' boyfriend, Showalter explained why his time on the show in a cameo as the Yankees manager was a one-off: “You’ll notice I didn’t do a second appearance because when Mr. [George] Steinbrenner found out they were making fun of him, I was told no.”
The interview almost ended there, but play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen urged Gelbs to broach one more topic with the Mets’ skipper: What about those cotton uniforms?
“I tell you what,” Showalter said, “if we don’t get off to a good start, you’ll see cotton in New York.”