Bob Costas wants Don Mattingly and Keith Hernandez in the Hall of Fame. Here's why he's right.
From left: Don Mattingly, Bob Costas and Keith Hernandez Credit: AP
In the fourth inning of the Yankees-Phillies game on NBC’s “Sunday Night Baseball,” Bob Costas delivered a memorable verbal essay that featured an impassioned plea relating to Don Mattingly.
“Donnie Baseball,” Costas said, “belongs in the Hall of Fame.”
It was hours after Sunday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Cooperstown welcomed Carlos Beltran, Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones into the pantheon of baseball immortals that so far does not include Mattingly, the former Yankees great and current Phillies manager.
Yankees fans don’t need to be convinced that Mattingly should be in the Hall (just as Mets fans don’t need to be sold on the candidacy of Keith Hernandez).
So how about it, Hall of Fame veterans committee? How about you put in two of the greatest first basemen in baseball history together on a future ballot?
Now, to be clear, that’s not Costas’ idea to put Mattingly and Hernandez in together. It’s mine.
But Costas, in addition to being passionately in favor of Mattingly getting the nod, also feels Hernandez deserves a plaque in Cooperstown.
Costas, in a telephone interview with Newsday on Tuesday, made the case for Mattingly, who for a five-year span in the 1980s was arguably the best player in baseball but who had to retire at age 34 because of a debilitating back condition. Mattingly never got more than 28% of the vote in his 15 years on the BBWAA ballot and also struck out four times on various veterans committee ballots.
“One of the points that I've made for many years is you have to take into account the following,” Costas said. “Was that person ever — not for one single season, but for a sustained period of time — in the conversation of who is the best player in baseball? There's a five-year stretch [for Mattingly]. These are like gigantic numbers. And he was a Gold Glove first baseman, too. And he was the captain of the team and had all the leadership qualities, etc. And then he has the monumental bad luck to have to retire at 34 because of a bad back. Obviously, he wasn't as great in the '90s as he was in the '80s, but it wasn't like his last years he was terrible.”
Costas pointed out that Mattingly’s entire career (1982 to 1995) coincided with a Yankees postseason drought with the exception of his final season, when the Yankees won the AL’s first-ever wild card.
All Mattingly did in his one postseason series — the Yankees’ epic five-game ALDS loss to Seattle — was hit .417 with a homer, six RBIs and a 1.148 OPS.
With the exception of that one playoff series, Mattingly was “that rare, great Yankee who never was on a national stage,” Costas said. “He retired because of injury and then immediately a dynasty starts and Tino Martinez is in all the World Series.”
The writers of the time clearly penalized Mattingly because he didn’t hang on and increase his career totals.
But there’s something to be said for eye-popping greatness over a shorter span. Mattingly had it. It should count for more than it has so far.
“There's some people that are in the Hall of Fame because of cumulative stats,” Costas said. “Then there are other people who — now, it's not Sandy Koufax. Sandy Koufax is like Gale Sayers in football. We saw enough. We don't need totals. We saw brilliance in a concentrated period of time and that's good enough.”
Costas, who grew up in Commack, makes a different argument for Hernandez, and not because the former Mets first baseman has become a beloved Mets announcer in his post-playing days. Hernandez never got more than 10.8% on the BBWAA ballot and was kicked off after nine years because he totaled less than 5% in 2004.
“In the case of Hernandez, my point is a bit different,” Costas said. “He is by acclimation, not just a Gold Glove first baseman, as Mattingly was, but by acclimation, the greatest defensive first baseman in the history of the game.
“Brooks Robinson, a corner infielder, is in, and absolutely should have been in on the first ballot as he was because he defined the position [third base]. But he didn't hit for power like Eddie Mathews or Mike Schmidt at the same position or Adrian Beltre more recently. But his glove, and a good bat, got him into the Hall of Fame, no argument. Shortstop’s a different position. Ozzie Smith is in the Hall of Fame because he defined the position.
“People tend to downgrade first base. But Keith Hernandez wasn't just better at the same things as other first basemen. He redefined the position. The way he played the position. They had him take cutoff throws from the outfield because he had a better arm than the second baseman. The way he almost nullified sacrifices by practically being close enough to shake hands with the batter and being lefthanded being able to throw to third base. Plus, he was a team leader. And he won a batting title. He shared an MVP with Willie Stargell.”
Costas, who is in the Hall himself as the 2018 Ford C. Frick winner, doesn’t have a vote, incredibly.
But if he did? Then you’d be able to attend Hall of Fame induction ceremonies — or maybe one combined ceremony — for a pair of New York icons. Two who should be in already.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
