RIP Ralph Kiner

Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder. Long-time Mets broadcaster. Dead at 91.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/hall-famer-longtime-mets-broadcaster-kiner-dead-91-article-1.1604801

 

Funeral sponsored by Rheingold Extra. RIP

 

RIP

 

I never even liked The Met's but loved watching Met Post Game show
Kiner's Korner. It was ahead of it's time.

 

The one thing I have to say -- Ralph was a very nice man and I will miss him. I knew Ralph for 35 years, from my first year on the Mets beat to now, and I will miss a good friend. He never big-timed anyone, and he had more baseball stories than anybody.
Yes, we all know his malaprops, and his problem with names. But that was a funny part of his career, and not what he should be remembered for. He used to laugh at them, too, like when he introduced Gary Cohen as David Cone.
I will remember him as a man who welcomed me to the beat and always wanted to know how I was doing, especially after I left the business due to my multiple sclerosis.
RIP doesn't say enough about Ralph.
Dan Castellano

 

If I can add one more thing -- if you were ever lucky enough to spend some time with Ralph at the hotel bar, he'd never let you pay. Truly a gentleman, he will be missed.

 

He, Nelson and Murphy were a big part of my childhood. The on-air stories may have been old and repeatedly told, but they were still pretty good. He just projected being a nice guy over the air.

Met him a couple of times at charity events and he was super nice.

 

The conversation he must be having with spnited. RIP.

 

Met him once when he was involved with a local golf tournament in the late 1990s and found him to be humble and gracious.
Interviewed him in his Palm Springs-area condo and he and his wife could not have been nicer.
I probably broke some kind of ethical rule in accepting an autographed ball and Hall of Fame card, but he offered and I did not want to tell him no after his hospitability.
RIP Ralph.

 

I remember him once calling a Mets-Cubs game in the mid-80s. Jody Davis hits a ball in the air, and Kiner says nonchalantly, "... and there's a pop up to the shortstop. (Whoever the Mets shortstop was) looks for it ... and .... that ball is gone. Home run."
Oops.
Never was a fan of Kiner's broadcasting, because of things like that and I just wasn't a Mets fan at all, but I can certainly appreciate 51 years of work and what he meant to the franchise.
RIP.

Was he working in the booth up until last year?

 

Well said, Mr. Casty.

 

Well said ... Broadcast career aside ... There's also a reason this guy was HOF'er and a beloved Bucco. He was a hammer at the plate.

10 seasons ... He led the NL in HRs seven times and owned the category in Post WW-II until 1953. He had five seasons where he belted 40 or more homers - playing home games in mammoth confines of Forbes Field no less.
In comparison, Willie Stargell, who hit nearly 480 dingers in his career topped 40 homers just twice.