Jerry Seinfeld Was Nervous To Meet A Sports Legend On His NBC Show

Throughout its brilliant nine-season run, "Seinfeld" brought a number of celebrities on to play amusing caricatures of themselves (or, in the case of Regis Philbin, himself). Raquel Welch (star of "Scarsdale Surprise"), Marisa Tomei and "The Velvet Fog" Mel Tormé are just a few big names that got in on the fun, but it's arguable the most memorable drop-ins came from the world of sports. Given that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David are both massive sports fans, this shouldn't be surprising, but it is interesting that both men managed to get players from their favorite, and very different, New York baseball teams to guest on the show.

David, a well-known Yankees fanatic, prevailed upon newly minted World Series champions Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams to appear on the Season 8 episode "The Abstinence" in 1996. Though not anywhere near a top-tier episode, Jeter and Williams were game and comfortable within the comedy genre – which is not always the case for athletes trying their hand at acting (if you enjoy painfully unfunny fiascos, see Wayne Gretzky's episode of "Saturday Night Live"). Still, the lads in pinstripes couldn't come close to matching the comedic heights of former New York Met Keith Hernandez' appearance on the two-part classic "The Boyfriend" from Season 3.

And while the television version of Jerry handles his unlikely friendship with the five-time All-Star first baseman with aplomb (until he abruptly ends it because he doesn't want to help the slugger move his furniture), real-life Jerry wasn't so suave.

In a 2023 interview with Vulture dedicated entirely to his performance in this all-timer, Hernandez revealed that die-hard Mets fan Seinfeld "was a little sheepish but welcoming." As for the others, Hernandez said they were all wonderful to work with — except Jason Alexander.

According to Hernandez, who, during the episode, must fend off an accusation of spitting on Kramer and Newman (prompting Jerry to formulate a "second spitter" theory à la the JFK assassination), Alexander "was a little standoffish most of the week." When asked why the actor wasn't as welcoming as the other cast members, Hernandez thought it might have something to do with him being a comedy interloper.

As he told Vulture:

"[Alexander] probably had to work his way through bit roles, and here I come as a guest star, and who am I? A retired baseball player? I'm just speculating. But it all changed when we had to do the complete run-through in chronological order in front of the NBC executives on Friday night. I had to pass their litmus test and censors, and I didn't make any mistakes. Jason came up to me with a big smile and shook my hand and said, "Nice going." From that point on, he was wonderful. I guess I had to prove myself. I realized I couldn't hold them up and be terrible and not memorize lines. I had a lot of lines. It was a very, very stressful week."

So there you have it: Seinfeld was a little nervous and Alexander was a little jerk-ish until he wasn't. Regardless, everyone brought their A-game for what wound up being the highlight of "Seinfeld" Season 3.