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Kiner, Hall of Fame slugger, broadcaster, dies at 91
Led Majors in homers for six straight years with Bucs; worked Mets games
since 1962
By Marty Noble / MLB.com | 2/6/2014 3:18 P.M. ET
When Frank Cashen approached a gathering of men at Spring Training camp in
the 1980s, he routinely addressed them three times. "Gentlemen, gentlemen,
gentlemen," the Mets general manager would say, no matter the number of
scoundrels and scallywags in the group. He once explained why he would paint
them all with the same benefit-of-the-doubt brush. "Just in case Mr. Kiner is
among them," Cashen said. "Any group that includes Ralph would have to be a
group of gentlemen."
A tad presumptuous, perhaps, but probably true; the gentle and princely
presence of Ralph Kiner could turn a gathering of crooks, rogues and rascals
into civil and gracious fellows. Mr. Kiner had that effect, the opposite of
one bad apple. "One wonderful man," Tim McCarver once said. "Any group of
people is better off if Ralph joins."
On this mournful day, consider the group of mankind worse off; Ralph
McPherran Kiner has died. One of baseball's genuine and most charming
gentlemen, foremost sluggers and most enduring personalities passed away
Thursday at age 91. He died peacefully of natural causes, with his family at
his side, at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the National Baseball Hall of
Fame said.
"Ralph dominated at the plate for a decade, but his contributions to our
national pastime spanned generations," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "For 52
years, Ralph was a one-of-a-kind voice of the Mets, linking baseball's
unparalleled history to New York's new National League franchise since its
very inception.
"I am grateful that I recently had the opportunity to visit with Ralph, whose
lifetime of service to baseball will always be treasured by the fans of
Pittsburgh, New York and beyond. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend
my deepest condolences to his five children, his 12 grandchildren, his
friends throughout our game and his admirers everywhere."
The game's shoulders are slumping and its eyes are moist. Baseball has had
few in its family who were so widely revered, beloved and enjoyed.
"A man impossible to dislike," Kiner's long-time broadcast partner, the late
Bob Murphy, said years ago. No one has ever disputed that assessment. Whether
he was known as a Pirates slugger, Mets announcer, a Hall of Famer, the
Keeper of the Korner, golf partner or the guy next to you on the elevator,
Kiner was, above all, a gentleman. He held the door for his fellow men and
women, deferred to others, always reached first for the check and considered
a request for his autograph a compliment. He traveled on the high road
exclusively.
Now he is gone, leaving a legacy of always cordial interaction with folks he
did and did not know, exceptional power-hitting, masterful story-telling,
vast baseball knowledge, uncommon decency, untold kindnesses and
unforgettable slips of the tongue.
"It's always a pleasure to be in Mr. Kiner's company," Cashen, the GM from
1980-91, said the day he joined Kiner and others in the Mets' Hall of Fame.
"We could use more Ralph Kiners in our world."
Said Mets chairman and CEO Fred Wilpon: "Ralph Kiner was one of the most
beloved people in Mets history -- an original Met and extraordinary
gentleman. After a Hall of Fame playing career, Ralph became a treasured
broadcasting icon for more than half a century. His knowledge of the game,
wit and charm entertained generations of Mets fans.
"Like his stories, he was one of a kind. We send our deepest condolences to
Ralph's five children and 12 grandchildren. Our sport and society today lost
one of the all-time greats."
Through charisma and persona, Kiner became a celebrity who transcended the
game. He made Pittsburgh the home-run capital for most of a decade, and at
times, a suburb of Hollywood. His companions included Elizabeth Taylor, Janet
Leigh and Esther Williams. He married standout tennis player Nancy Chaffee.
When his back betrayed him and cut short his playing career in the mid-1950s,
Kiner developed into a voice for generations of Mets fans. He knew the game,
its people and its idiosyncrasies. He could fill a cross-country flight with
entertaining anecdotes about Frankie Frisch, his first manager, Babe Ruth,
Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Casey Stengel, Marv Throneberry and Liz. And he
had more than enough stories for the return flight.
His institutional memory of the Mets exceeded that of all others. Kiner was
there from the first day and had unequaled entry in the organization. He had
maps to all the skeletons and firsthand knowledge of so much. Whether the
group included Casey and Yogi, Seaver and Koosman, Carter and Hernandez or
Wright and Reyes, Kiner was one of them, accepted, appreciated and respected
for all he had done and all he could relate.
Those who shared the television booths with him -- the booths at Shea Stadium
and Citi Field were named after him -- embraced all he brought to the
airwaves. Mostly, folks took pleasure and pride in him. "Being one of the
people Ralph knows and talks to is just ... so cool ... great ...
unbelievably cool and great," Howie Rose said.
Words hadn't failed Rose, a Mets radio man. Such sentiments were often
expressed by others as well.
Because he had been a fixture in the game's largest market for 52 years,
Kiner's history sometimes seemed to have begun in 1962, when the expansion
Mets were bumbling infants. His star was born 16 years earlier, though.
Before he became a link to our past and a valued component of our present, he
was a celebrity. His power hitting, from 1946-55, put him on the outskirts of
Cooperstown. He became a permanent resident in 1975, when he received one
vote more than was required for induction in his final year of eligibility on
the writers' ballot.
He missed only one Hall of Fame induction, in 2012, and never took his own
for granted.
"With the passing of Ralph Kiner, the baseball world has lost one of its
greatest ambassadors and the Hall of Fame has lost a wonderful friend," said
Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark. "Ralph spent eight decades as a
player, executive and broadcaster. He was a man who truly loved our national
pastime and made it better in every way. His legacy will live forever in
Cooperstown."
Kiner touched so many people in his time, most of them through his work as a
Mets announcer and the host of "Kiner's Korner," the postgame show that
regularly demonstrated his warmth and his appreciation and knowledge of the
game. He was a vein rich in baseball lore. His voice was one of experience.
And what experience!
He played for Frisch, roomed with Hank Greenberg, played with Bob Feller, and
knew -- and occasionally disagreed with -- Branch Rickey. He kibitzed with
Stengel, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider and Willie Mays, tutored Ron Swoboda and
called the games of Tom Seaver, Tug McGraw, Dwight Gooden and David Wright.
Whether the topic was Nolan Ryan or Ryan Thompson, Leo's lip or Casey's hip,
Mookie or El Duque, Piggy's tomatoes or Strawberry's field, Roger Cedeno or
Rogers Hornsby, Gary Cooper or Cooperstown, Mr. Met or Miss Rheingold, Mettle
the Mule or the black cat, David Cone or Gary Cohen, the Hammer or Nails, the
'62 Mets or the '93 mess, the K Corner or Bobby O, Wagner's heat or Tug's
screwball, Liz Taylor's smile or George Foster's scowl, Rusty's ribs or
Pedro's shoulder, Mazzilli's pants or Lindsey's jackets, Robert L. Miller or
Robert E. Mets, Kiner had a firm grasp of the topic, something to say about
it and a willingness to share it with all.
Chances are, though, that we never would have come to know him if not for his
ability to hit baseballs over fences, walls and outfielders' heads. Kiner led
the National League in home runs or tied for the league lead in each of his
first seven seasons, beginning in 1946. He led the big leagues or tied for
the leadership from 1947-52; not even Babe Ruth accomplished such a six-year
run. Kiner and Johnny Mize hit 51 home runs each in 1947, and Kiner hit 54
two years later. No other NL player had two 50-plus home run seasons until
1965, when Mays, who hit 51 in 1955, hit 52.
The resume Kiner created in the Minor Leagues from 1941 to early in the '43
season -- 27 home runs and a .264 average in 1,136 at-bats -- hardly
suggested Kiner would flourish when he reached the big leagues. But when he
returned to baseball in 1946, after serving as a Navy pilot in the Pacific,
he had gained 20 pounds and matured. He was a Spring Training phenom.
Though he equaled the Pirates club home run record, 23, as a rookie, his
power often was offset by the unkind dimensions of Forbes Field. Only eight
of his home runs were hit in Pittsburgh.
The Pirates acquired Greenberg from the Tigers in 1947, and the future Hall
of Fame slugger became "the single biggest influence of my adult life,"
according to Kiner. The two sluggers -- Kiner was 24, Greenberg 36 -- became
close friends and developed a student-teacher relationship. Kiner became more
of a pull hitter because of Greenberg and changes in the dimensions of Forbes
Field. And Greenberg taught him other valuable lessons, among them that a
tuxedo requires black, not brown, shoes.
The acquisition of Greenberg had more tangible impact. The Pirates reduced
the respective distances to the walls in left and left-center field from 365
and 406 feet to 335 and 376. That created what newspaper men identified as
"Greenberg's Garden" and what later became "Kiner's Korner."
The Korner seemingly was a factor in Kiner's power production: 28 of his 51
homers in '47 were hit at Forbes. He hit seven home runs in a four-game
sequence in August and eight in another four games in September. All eight
games were in Pittsburgh. He became the fifth player to hit 50 home runs in a
season on Sept. 18.
After his salary was tripled -- to $30,000 -- and his teammate Fritz
Ostermueller noted that, "Home run hitters drive Cadillacs. Singles hitters
drive Fords," words often attributed to Kiner, the Pirates slugger did buy a
Cadillac.
The Pirates signed him for $40,000 for 1949, during which he would threaten
the single-season home run records of Babe Ruth (60) and Hack Wilson (56 in
the National League). On Sept. 11, when Kiner became the first player to hit
home runs in four successive at-bats for a second time, he had 48, with 12 in
his last 14 games. But he finished with 54.
The Pirates signed him to a two-year contract, unheard of in 1950, for
$65,000 per season. He was the highest-paid player in the National League and
only Joe DiMaggio, Feller and Ted Williams had higher annual salaries. Kiner
averaged 44 home runs and 115 RBIs per season and batted .285 with a .411
on-base average from 1947-53.
His strikeout total exceeded 90 once, in his rookie season. He placed in the
top 10 in MVP balloting from 1947 through '52, though the Pirates finished
higher than sixth place -- in an eight-team league -- once.
"All of us at the Pittsburgh Pirates have heavy hearts upon learning of Ralph
Kiner's passing," the team said in reaction to Kiner's death. "Ralph was one
of the greatest players to ever wear a Pirates uniform and was a tireless
ambassador for the game of baseball. He was a treasured member of the
Pittsburgh community during his seven years with the Pirates.
"Our heartfelt sympathies, thoughts and prayers go out to his children,
grandchildren, other family members and many friends. He will be missed by
all of us at the Pirates organization."
The Pirates traded Kiner, who was 30, with Joe Garagiola and two others to
the Cubs for six players and $150,000 on June 4, 1953. By the end of the 1954
season, Kiner had hit 50 home runs and driven in 160 runs for Chicago. A move
to the Indians -- Greenberg was their GM -- followed, as did more problems
with his back. Kiner appeared in 113 games in 1955 for the defending league
champions, who placed second to the Yankees, and was forced to retire. His
369 home runs ranked sixth all-time when his career ended.
Kiner served as GM of the San Diego Padres, the Indians' affiliate in the
Pacific Coast League. He worked postgame shows in Pittsburgh during the 1960
World Series and White Sox games in 1961. And in '62, he, Murphy and Lindsey
Nelson began a 17-year run as the Mets' television and radio announcers.
Nelson left, Murphy, who died in 2004, retired in 2003. And Kiner had filled
a diminishing role in recent years.
But his time in the booth provided the game with some unforgettable
observations and mistakes that prompted the term "Kinerisms."
‧ He identified Gary Carter as Gary Cooper after the future Hall of Fame
catcher hit a walk-off home run in his first game with the Mets, on Opening
Day in 1985.
‧ He introduced announcer Gary Cohen as David Cone, who was to be the Mets
pitcher that night.
‧ He said, "All of Rick Aguilera's saves have come in relief appearances."
‧ He credited Darryl Strawberry with decoying baserunner Darryl Strawberry.
‧ When Jason Isringhausen started opposite Todd Stottlemyre, Kiner said,
"This will go down in history as the game where the pitchers have the most
initials."
‧ He said, "Tony Gwynn was named player of the year for April."
But Kiner also was the source of several brilliant lines, including:
‧ "Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water. The other third is covered
by Garry Maddox."
‧ "Cadillacs (meaning home runs) are down at the end of the bat."
And he participated in one of the enduring exchanges in baseball history.
Catcher Choo Choo Coleman was a guest on one of the early "Kiner's Korner"
programs. Kiner probed Coleman, asking "What's your wife's name?"
Coleman's response: "Mrs. Coleman."
Kiner's question: "What's she like?"
Coleman's response: "She likes me, Bub."
Kiner's most memorable television remark, however, involved one person:
He said, "Hello everybody, welcome to Kiner's Korner, I'm Ralph Korner."
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
連六年MLB全壘打王,前海盜隊外野手,後轉任梅子隊播報員的名人堂得主
Ralph Kiner以91歲高齡去世
R.I.P
--
他在電動裡面超好用的說
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推 charlie01:咦 我一直以為他不在了說 也算天壽了,偉大球員R.I.P. 02/07 09:03
推 yijyi:是從新人年開始連續七年全壘打王 02/07 09:52
→ abc2090614:MLB2005傳奇球星超強 02/07 10:29
推 atxp4869:維基百科昨天馬上更新 超級快=口= 02/07 10:51
推 yijyi:我不是說你打錯啦,我只是補充,連七年全壘打王,連六年mlb最多 02/07 11:24
推 DaFoo:請問全壘打王不就MLB HR最多嗎?有啥不一樣? 02/07 13:41
→ ssccg:全壘打王分NL AL吧 02/07 14:05
推 qlz:R.I.P. 02/07 20:11
推 a12q35745:R.I.P. 02/07 22:07
推 Guerrieri:R.I.P. 02/07 22:20
推 Werth28:RIP 02/08 15:12