1986 Sportflics Decade Greats Ralph Kiner

 

The player: Ralph Kiner was one of the best one-dimensional players in baseball history. Kiner came up with the Pirates in 1946 and led the NL with 23 home runs in his rookie year. However, he hit only .247 and struck out a league high 109 times, and was in danger of returning to the minors with a slow start in 1947. However, that season the Pirates had acquired veteran slugger Hank Greenberg, a move which would help the young slugger in two ways. Greenberg spent many hours teaching the young Kiner the finer points of hitting, greatly improving his overall game. Also, the team greatly shortened the distance to the left field fence. That area was originally called "Greenberg Gardens" but later became known as "Kiner's Korner" as Kiner used that field change to his advantage. Kiner led the NL in home runs in each of his first seven seasons, 1946-1952, including a career-best 54 home runs in 1949. After the 1953 season, in a typical Pirates cost-cutting move, Kiner was traded to the Cubs. However, back injuries prevented Kiner from reaching the same levels of success in Wrigley, though he did hit 50 home runs over two seasons with the team. He was traded to Cleveland and played one season there before retiring. Because of his short career and rather pedestrian .279 career average, Kiner was not elected to the Hall of Fame until his final year of eligibility, 1975.

The man: Kiner enlisted in the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, and accumulated 1,200 flying hours in anti-submarine missions. After his playing career Kiner became a broadcaster, joining the Mets in their first season, 1962, and staying with them through the 2013 season, one of the longest broadcasting careers in history. Kiner and his postgame show "Kiner's Korner" were cornerstones of New York sports television for decades, and he was beloved by generations of Mets fans. (The very young Kiner in one of the photos on this card looks so different from the older gentleman most New Yorkers are familiar with.) He died in 2014 at the age of 91.

My collection: I do not have any playing days cards of Kiner. His last Topps card was 1953's #191, while his last career as an active player was 1955 Bowman #197.