Ralph Kiner: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1975

Born: October 27, 1922
1941: Signed by Pittsburgh Pirates
1941-3: Minors
1943-5: World War II Service
Debut: April 16, 1946 (Pirates)
1946: Led NL in home runs (23) as a rookie
1946-52: Led NL in home runs
1949: First NL Player with two 50 home run seasons
1949: .310, 54 HR, 127 RBI, 116 runs, 170 hits, 117 walks, 1.089 OPS
1951: Appears in Angels in the Outfield.
1953: Traded to the Cubs
1954: Traded to the Indians
1955: Retired due to back injury
1961: Broadcaster for the White Sox
1962-2013: Broadcaster for the New York Mets
1975: Elected to the Hall of Fame (75.41%)
1984: New York Mets Hall of Fame
1987: Pirates retire his #4
1999: Finalist for the All-Century Team
2007: Ralph Kiner Night at Shea Stadium
2014: Died
Accomplishments:
6x All Star
7x home run champ
.279
369 HR
1015 RBI
971 Runs
1451 Hits
1011 walks-749 strikeouts
.398 OBP
.548 Slugging
.946 OPS
100+ runs: 6x
30+ doubles: 2x
20+ HR: 9x
30+ HR: 7x
40+ HR: 5x
50+ HR: 2x
100+ RBI: 6x
100+ walks: 3x
.300+ average: 3x
.400 OBP: 4x
.500 slugging: 7x
.600 slugging: 3x
1.000+ OPS: 3x
300+ TB: 3x
Led league in games: 2x
Led league in runs (124): 1951
Led league in RBI (127): 1949
Led league in walks: 3x
Led league in OBP (.452): 1951
Led league in slugging: 3x
Led league in TB (361): 1947

Top 10 Left Fielders of All Time

Ted Williams is #1 by the proverbial country mile...and the rest....in no particular order.

Ted Williams

Barry Bonds*

Al Simmons

Carl Yastrzemski

Rickey Henderson

Joe Jackson

Manny Ramirez*

Ralph Kiner

Willie Stargell

Stan Musial

Top 10 Pittsburgh Pirates Moments

Babe Adams wins Game 7 on a shutout; it is his 3rd win of the World Series (Game 7 World Series October 16, 1909): Honus Wagner and the Pirates defeated Ty Cobb and the Tigers in an epic World Series. Babe Adams was the hero for the Bucs as he pitched three complete game victories. The other Pirate starters went 1-3. It was Pittsburgh’s first world title.


Kiki Cuyler wins the World Series (Game 7 World Series October 15, 1925): The World Champion Senators led the Pirates 7-6 going into the bottom of the 8th. The Pirates rallied for three to take the lead and deflate Walter Johnson. The Bucs tied the game with 2 outs. With 2 on and 2 out, Max Carey reached on an error loading the bases. The next batter, Kiki Cuyler, hit a ground rule double to right scoring the go-ahead runs. The Senators went down in order in the 9th. The Pirates won their second title.

Ralph Kiner wins 7th straight home run crown (1952): The Pirates enjoyed success in the early twentieth century. By mid-century, they were terrible. Ralph Kiner provided one bright spot by winning seven home run crowns in a row. Beginning in 1946, Kiner stroked 23, 51, 40, 54, 47, 42, and 37. He finished his Hall of Fame career with 369 blasts.

Dale Long homers in eight straight games (May 19-28, 1956): Dale Long hit 27 roundtrippers in 1956. Starting on May 19, he hit at least one in eight straight games breaking the previous record of six. Long included Warren Spahn, Curt Simmons, and Carl Erskine among his victims. The Dodgers and Don Newcombe finally ended the streak. The record has since been tied by Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993).

Harvey Haddix is almost perfect (May 26, 1959): Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game into the 13th inning before allowing a base runner. Unfortunately, the Pirates failed to score. In the 13th, the Braves managed some base runners and Joe Adcock doubled in the winning run. Haddix lost the perfect game, the no-hitter, the shutout, and the ballgame.

Mazeroski’s home run (Game 7 World Series October 13, 1960): Bill Mazeroski won one of the greatest games ever played with a 9th inning walk-off. The Pirates led Game 7 early by a score of 4-0. The Yanks rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the 6th. The game see-sawed into the 9th. The Pirates looked to win the series with a 2-run lead, but New York rallied. With the game tied 9-9 in the bottom of the 9th, Maz hit a Ralph Terry pitch over the left field wall for the first World Series walk-off in history. It was Pittsburgh’s first title since 1925.

Steve Blass beats O’s 2-1 (Game 7 World Series October 17, 1971): The Orioles and Pirates engaged in a classic World Series which was decided in seven games. Pirate starter Steve Blass experienced an extreme case of nerves which Baltimore manager Earl Weaver attempted to fan when he came out to chat with the umpires. Weaver’s efforts had the opposite effect. Blass calmed down and pitched the game of his life. He stopped the O’s on 4 hits and was supported by a homer from Roberto Clemente. The Pirates scored their second run in the 8th. Blass only allowed one in out dueling Mike Cuellar.

Roberto Clemente gets his 3000th , and final, hit (September 30, 1972): Roberto Clemente scored his 3000th hit off Mets righthander John Matlack. The right fielder accomplished the feat in front of his home fans and represented a goodbye of sorts. It was his last regular season at-bat of his career. During the offseason, Clemente died in a plane crash.

Rennie Stennett goes 7-7 (September 16, 1975): The Pirates massacred the Chicago Cubs 22-0. In the process, Rennie Stennett hit safely in all seven at bats. He is the only twentieth century player to accomplish this.

Pops brings it home (Game 7 World Series October 17, 1979): Willie Stargell had a dream that he would do something great in Game 7. In the 6th inning, with the Bucs trailing the Orioles, Stargell hit the go-ahead homer. His two-run shot off Scott McGregor proved the game winner. The Bucs tacked on two in the 9th for a 4-1 victory. Pittsburgh’s “family” overcame a 3-1 deficit and the death of manager Chuck Tanner’s mother to beat a high powered Oriole team. To date, it is the Pirates last title.