Peninsula Prep Baseball
A month after being presented with the Keith Hernandez Award, given this year to Capuchino's top offensive player, Travis Ciardella met the award's namesake – and perhaps Cap's most famous alum.
Keith Hernandez, who won World Series championships with both the St. Louis Cardinals (1982) and New York Mets (1986) where he was a gold glove first baseman, is now a radio analyst for the Mets, who are playing the Giants this weekend.
Hernandez was made aware of the award last week and took time following the Mets' 8-1 victory over the Giants on Friday to meet with Ciardella, who graduated from Capuchino in June and will play baseball at Canada College in the fall.
Ciardella was one of the lynchpins on a Mustangs team that advanced to the CCS-Division II semifinals in May after winning a CCS crown in 2024. Surrounded in a potent lineup that featured fellow seniors Andres Gomez, Lucas Zayac and Anakin Manuel, Ciardella hit .376 with 35 hits. He scored 24 runs and drove in 24.
Hernandez graduated from Capuchino in 1971. The Pacifica native started his high school career at Terra Nova but transferred to the San Bruno campus. He played briefly at the College of San Mateo before being picked in the 42nd round – pick No. 783 – of the 1971 MLB Draft.
Hernandez and left-handed relief pitcher Bob McClure made history in 1982 when they became the first Little League Baseball teammates to face each other in a World Series game.
He shared the most valuable player award with Pittsburgh's Willie Stargell in 1979 but was traded to the Mets in 1983 after Hernandez was implicated in a cocaine scandal that rocked the MLB landscape.
Hernandez was a five-time all-star who won 11 Gold Gloves, the most by any first baseman in big-league history. He finished his career with .296 batting average and 2,182 hits. He also drove in 1,071 runs.
Members Discussion