Ralph Kiner Has Described, Revealed and Taught for 50 Wonderful Years

I am one of the lucky ones. I have been learning baseball from Ralph Kiner for more than 50 years.

Kiner was a broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox in 1961. I remember during a rain delay in a game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, Mel Allen interviewed Kiner.

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were both chasing the ghost of Babe Ruth and most New York Yankees' fans were rooting for Mantle. They were extremely upset that manager Ralph Houk had Maris batting third and Mantle fourth.

Kiner explained that with Mantle hitting behind Maris, Mantle protected Maris more than if Maris hit behind Mantle. Sure enough, as incredible as it seems, Maris was never walked intentionally during the 1961 season when he set the single season home run record..

The following season, 1962, the New York Mets joined baseball, while Kiner joined Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy in the broadcast booth. The trio worked both the television and radio sides with Kiner announcing two innings on both to go along with his post game television show.

Murphy was one of the best play-by-play announcers ever and Nelson wasn't far behind. When they were on the radio, listeners knew what had happened, what might happen, but of greatest importance, fans knew what was happening as it unfolded.

Hey, John Sterling, do you hear that?

Ralph Kiner was merely adequate describing the game, but he was the greatest with respect to, as Gary Cohen said, his  "no-holds-barred analysis."

This past season, Kiner laced into David Wright for not being aggressive in a key situation that demanded a big hit.  When was the last time anyone heard John Sterling rip Alex Rodriguez or, heaven forbid, Derek Jeter?

In 1969, Kiner praised Gil Hodges for walking out to left field and removing Cleon Jones for not hustling.  Jones might have been embarrassed, but he would no longer dog it.

Ralph Kiner is not a "homer."

Howard Cosell purported to "tell it like it is." Cosell was an opportunist. Ralph Kiner really did "tell is like it is."

During their first season, the New York Mets lost 120 games. It remains the record for the most losses by a team in a season. It wasn't a new experience for Kiner to be associated with such a poor team.

"I'd lost 112 games one year with the Pirates," he told writer Michael Malone. "I was used to it."

Los Angeles Dodgers' broadcaster Vin Scully influenced Kiner greatly. Neither fears a little "dead time."

"There's too much noise, too many simplifications of situations and so much coverage that at times it gets uninteresting," says Kiner. "The game itself is a great game. You don't have to add anything to it."  

Owner Fred Wilpon may be criticized for some unwise actions, but sometimes he knows a good thing.

He has told Ralph Kiner that he has a job as long as he can talk.