Ralph Kiner

Hall of Fame slugger and beloved Mets broadcaster.

Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American professional baseball left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) and later a broadcaster. Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Following his retirement, Kiner served from 1956 through 1960 as general manager of the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres. He also served as an announcer for the New York Mets from the team's inception until his death. Though injuries forced his retirement from active play after 10 seasons, Kiner led all of his National League contemporaries in home runs in seven straight seasons between 1946 and 1952, a feat never previously accomplished in Major League Baseball and not matched since. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975 on his 15th ballot.

Quick Facts

Position: Left fielder
Bats: Right
Born: 27 October 1922
Birthplace: Santa Rita, New Mexico, U.S.
Died: 6 February 2014
Place of death: Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: April 12

Lore & Background

Kiner was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico, to Beatrice (née Grayson) and Ralph Macklin Kiner. His father died when Ralph was four and his mother took a job in Alhambra, California, where Kiner was subsequently raised. He was of Pennsylvania Dutch and Scotch-Irish descent, with German-Jewish ancestry through his maternal grandmother. Kiner graduated from Alhambra High School in Alhambra, California.

He served as a U.S. Navy pilot during World War II, flying PBM Mariner flying boats on submarine patrols from NAS Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii. Kiner made his major league debut on April 16, 1946, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Many of his homers were hit into a shortened left-field porch at Forbes Field, originally built for Hank Greenberg and known as 'Greenberg Gardens,' later redubbed 'Kiner's Korner.' Kiner would later use 'Kiner's Korner' as the title of his post-game TV show in New York.

The famous quote 'Home run hitters drive Cadillacs and singles hitters drive Fords' was actually coined by teammate Fritz Ostermueller.

Reader's Guide

Kiner led the National League in home runs for seven straight seasons from 1946 to 1952, though he did not lead the major leagues in 1946 (he hit 23 home runs that year). In 1949, he hit 54 home runs, which was the highest total in the major leagues from 1939 to 1960 and the highest National League total from 1931 to 1997. He was selected to the All-Star Game in six straight seasons, 1948 to 1953. Kiner was traded to the Chicago Cubs on June 4, 1953, as part of a ten-player trade, largely due to salary disputes with Pirates general manager Branch Rickey.

He finished his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1955, retiring at age 32 due to a back injury, with 369 home runs, 1,015 RBIs, and a .279 lifetime batting average. After his playing career, Kiner became a broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox in 1961, then for the New York Mets from 1962 until his death. He was known for his occasional malapropisms and his home run call 'It is gone, goodbye.' Kiner was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.