Ralph Kiner...RIP

[kmac32]

Just found out that he lived and died right here in Rancho Mirage

[tjb1952tjb]

Another great one gone............RIP

[MattyC]

[Koufax32fan]

Underrated player; underrated set. My latest Kiner, bought off the Bay in January.

[dougscats]

I've been a Mets fan since '62, and Ralph was great to listen to: Not many knew more about hitting, and he had so many great stories, all of which he retold countless times, and some of which got better with the retelling.
He was a generous, good-natured man, and a colorful character--there was a robustness to him--you got the sense that he enjoyed life, and he certainly led a full one.

He and McCarver once autographed cards for my son and his friend from the TV booth at Shea--You can guess who was the most thrilled of the three of us!--My wife said I was smiling like a kid from ear to ear.

He was legendary at mangling a player's name, and fans suffered with him as went through his bout with Bell's palsy towards the end of his career --I mean, what other announcer could slur through game after game and keep his job for years?--It was painful to hear, but Mets fans loved him. I cherished his guest appearances over the last ten years, hearing him retell his wonderful old stories one more time.

Thank you Ralph Kiner.

[yanksfan09]

Originally Posted by dougscats

I've been a Mets fan since '62, and Ralph was great to listen to: Not many knew more about hitting, and he had so many great stories, all of which he retold countless times, and many of which got better with the retelling.
He was a generous, good-natured man with a colorful character--there was a robustness to him--you got the sense that he enjoyed life, and he certainly led a full one.

He and McCarver once autographed cards for my son and his friend from the TV booth at Shea--You can guess who was the most thrilled of the three of us!--My wife said I was smiling like a kid from ear to ear.

He was legendary at mangling a player's name, and fans suffered with him as went through his bout with Bell's palsy towards the end of his career --I mean, what other announcer could slur through game after game and keep his job for years?--It was painful to hear, but Mets fans loved him. I cherished his guest appearances over the last ten years, hearing him retell his wonderful old stories one more time.

Thank you Ralph Kiner.

Great stuff....

I'm a Yankees fan but do tune in to my fair share of Mets games over the course of the year. I always left the game on when I heard Kiner doing a game. I loved hearing any of the old time players do games. I used to love hearing Rizzuto do Yankee games as a kid. You're able to learn so much and hear firsthand accounts of baseball history by listening to guys like that. I had the pleasure of meeting Kiner and getting a signed ball at a Hofstra card show on L.I. and he was very friendly with everyone.

[Brian Van Horn]

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