REMEMBERING RALPH KINER

I always liked Ralph Kiner and got sad yesterday when I heard the news that Kiner had passed. He was 91 years old.

When I was a kid, I would watch the Yankees on the weekends, usually day time games, and line all my baseball cards up according to the Yanks lineup that day. But every once in a while, if the Yankees weren't on, I'd be looking for a game on TV. At the time, the Mets or the Braves would be on somewhere, be it WOR or TBS. I would usually end up staying with the New York team though, clicking on the Mets and there was something comforting about the Mets post-game and watching Kiner's Korner.



Thank God for YouTube because I found an old interview with Ralph Kiner and Tom Seaver.  I'm sure Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record can't wait to watch this... he's a huge Seaver fan.

Bu that aside, know this; Kiner was a kind man and not only was he a great broadcaster, he was also a great player as well.

Sure, we're a Yankee site here, but we have respect for the game and it's players here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  According to ESPN, Kiner "...died with his family at his side at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., hit 369 home runs during his 10-year career, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who retired his No. 4 in 1987.

'Ralph Kiner was one of the greatest sluggers in National League history, leading the Senior Circuit in home runs in each of the first seven years of his Hall of Fame career,' commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "His consistent power and patience in the heart of the Pirates lineup made him a member of our All-Century Team and, in many respects, a player ahead of his time."

We wanted to pay our respects to Ralph Kiner and his family.  May he rest in peace. No doubt heaven just finished construction the the new Kiner's Korner studio and Ralph and getting miked up right now.

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