RIP Ralph Kiner

Left a great quote. "Singles hitters drive Fords. Home run hitters drive Cadillacs."
A proto-sabermetrician?

More seriously, I never met him, but it's hard to lie on television, and the decency cited by the folks on this thread who did know him always came through on the air.

 

Nice tribute from Jayson Stark, compiling many of the best "Kiner-isms." Includes the John Fogerty story:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/stark_jayson/id/10419125/ralph-kiner-had-one-life-special-gifts-ability-laugh-himself

 

I grew up with the Mets broadcasting trio too. I wish there was Youtube of the famous Kiner's Korner with George Carlin.

RIP

 

Jayson Stark will now have to subsist on Rich Donnelly fabrications.

 

Yes he was. He only would do a handful of games each year at home, usually just an inning or two which he usually spent telling his stories and some years, he'd pop in at a spring training game.

For all intents and purposes, he was retired, but the Mets didn't want to actually force him out, so they'd let him drop by from time to time.