Ralph Kiner

Ralph Kiner (born October 27, 1922, Santa Rita, New Mexico, U.S.—died February 6, 2014, Rancho Mirage, California) was one of the most prolific home-run hitters in the major leagues during the 1940s and ’50s. At the time of his retirement from baseball in 1955, he ranked sixth in career home runs with 369, and his ratio of 7.1 home runs per 100 at bats ranked second only to that of the legendary Babe Ruth. Kiner later enjoyed a long and successful career as a baseball broadcaster.

Early life

Kiner was four years old when his father, Ralph Macklin Kiner, a baker, died, and his mother, Beatrice (née Grayson) Kiner, a nurse, relocated the family from New Mexico to Alhambra, California. Having honed his baseball skills in southern California’s agreeable climate, Kiner was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates after he graduated from high school. He spent two years in the Pirates minor league system before joining the U.S. Navy Air Corps in 1943 and flying missions in search of Japanese submarines in the Pacific theater during World War II.

Playing career

Following the war, in 1946 Kiner, an outfielder who batted and threw right-handed, made his Major League Baseball debut with the Pirates. Although he was slow of foot and did not have a strong arm, at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters) and 195 pounds (88 kg), Kiner was powerfully built. In his first year in the big leagues he batted a disappointing .247 and struck out a league-leading 109 times in 502 at bats, but he led the National League (NL) in home runs with 23. The next year the Pirates acquired future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg from the Detroit Tigers. At age 36 the power-hitting Greenberg was nearing the end of his career, but the Pirates sought to capitalize on the right-handed hitter’s ability to hit home runs by reconfiguring the left-field dimensions of their home ballpark, Forbes Field, by moving the foul line in from 365 feet (111 meters) to 335 feet (102 meters) and reducing the power alley from a prodigious 406 feet (124 meters) to 376 feet (115 meters). The bullpen behind the fence was branded “Greenberg Gardens” in anticipation of the long balls it was expected that the slugger would plant there. Ultimately, Greenberg hit only 25 home runs in 1947, but Kiner—whom he roomed with, mentored, and hit behind in the batting order—launched 51 homers to again lead the league, and Greenberg Gardens was transformed into “Kiner’s Korner.”

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In each of the next five seasons (1948–52), Kiner again won or shared the NL’s home-run title, clubbing 40, 54, 47, 42, and 37 home runs. He also led the league three times in runs batted in (RBIs), driving in 117, 137, and 100 runs in 1949, 1951, and 1952, respectively. In the process, he became a fan favorite, attendance in Pittsburgh soared, and Kiner became one of the game’s best-paid players, his salary eventually climbing to $90,000 per year in 1952. However, that year the Pirates had 112 losses (the most by any big league team since 1935), and Branch Rickey, who had become the team’s general manager in 1950, cut Kiner’s salary to $75,000, despite the fact that Kiner had once again led the NL in homers. During the 1953 season Kiner was traded to the Chicago Cubs, and, at the end of the 1954 season, he was traded again, to the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), with whom he played one season before retiring, succumbing to a bad back that cut his career short.

Kiner had a lifetime batting average of .279, and he averaged more than 100 RBIs per season. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

Announcing career and personal life

Following his retirement as a player, Kiner served for five years as the general manager of San Diego’s minor league team. He then spent 1961 working as a radio announcer for the Chicago White Sox before beginning a long tenure (1962–2013) as a highly popular member of the New York Mets broadcast crew. In this capacity he helped chronicle the team’s journey from a hapless expansion team to the 1969 World Series champion “Miracle Mets,” and he continued to tell their story into the 21st century. Known for his insightful analysis, he is remembered fondly for both his bon mots and his occasional malapropism.

For a time, the tall handsome Kiner gained attention for the attractive celebrities he dated. On one occasion, singer-actor Bing Crosby, a part owner of the Pirates, arranged for Kiner to escort Elizabeth Taylor to a movie premiere. Kiner also dated actress Janet Leigh. In 1951 he married tennis star Nancy Chaffee, with whom he had three children. After they divorced, Kiner remarried three times.

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