"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: RALPH KINER

The next player to get a card in my long-running "Classic Baseball" custom WTHBALLS set is slugger and Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner:

Imagine averaging 97 runs, 37 homers and 101 runs batted in over your ENTIRE career?! Just awesome.

Kiner broke in with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946 and promptly led the National League in homers with 23, then proceeded to lead his league in that same department for the next six years, with FIVE of those seasons with 40 or more, all consecutively.

In 1947 he smashed 51 homers, then topped himself two years later when he outright demolished the ball, hitting 54 home runs while setting his personal best in slugging with a .658 mark

In his 10 short years as a Major League player he led the league 17 times in a positive offensive category.

All told, he finished with 369 homers, 1015 RBIs, 971 runs scored and a .279 average over 10 seasons, playing in only 1472 games with 5205 at-bats.

Injuries curtailed what could have been a monster career, but he produced plenty enough for the BBWA to induct him in 1975, cementing his place in baseball history, and he was already entrenched as the long-time New York Mets TV announcer, where he even copped an Emmy Award and kept us all in stitches with malapropisms for over 50 years.

 

VINTAGE CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1950 DRAKE'S "EXTENDED" SET: RALPH KINER

Hello all!

Up on the blog, we add slugger Ralph Kiner to my 1950 Drake's baseball "extension set", filling out the great oddball issue with HOFers that missed out the first time around:

I produced this custom set a couple of years ago in special deluxe packaging, and it came out just the way I envisioned it!

As for Kiner, imagine averaging 97 runs, 37 homers and 101 runs batted in over your ENTIRE career?! Just awesome.

Kiner broke in with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946 and promptly led the National League in homers with 23, then proceeded to lead his league in that same department for the next six years, with FIVE of those seasons with 40 or more, all consecutively.

In 1947 he smashed 51 homers, then topped himself two years later when he outright demolished the ball, hitting 54 home runs while setting his personal best in slugging with a .658 mark

In his 10 short years as a Major League player he led the league 17 times in a positive offensive category.

All told, he finished with 369 homers, 1015 RBIs, 971 runs scored and a .279 average over 10 seasons, playing in only 1472 games with 5205 at-bats.

Injuries curtailed what could have been a monster career, but he produced plenty enough for the BBWA to induct him in 1975, cementing his place in baseball history, and he was already entrenched as the long-time New York Mets TV announcer, where he even copped an Emmy Award and kept us all in stitches with malapropisms for over 50 years.

 

HALL OF FAME #29: RALPH KINER: CLASS OF 1975

Up next in the "Hall of Fame Inductee" parade is former slugger Ralph Kiner, who was admitted into Cooperstown's hallowed halls in 1975.

Check out my card design:

Imagine averaging 97 runs, 37 homers and 1010 runs batted in over your ENTIRE career?! Just awesome.

As we all know, Kiner broke in with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946 and promptly led the National League in homers with 23, then proceeded to lead his league in that same department for the next six years, with FIVE of those seasons with 40 or more, all consecutively.

In 1947 he smashed 51 homers, then topped himself two years later when he outright demolished the ball, hitting 54 home runs while setting his personal best in slugging with a .658 mark

In his 10 short years as a Major League player he led the league 17 times in a positive offensive category.

Injuries curtailed what could have been a monster career, but he produced plenty enough for the BBWA to induct him in 1975, cementing his place in baseball history, and he was already entrenched as the long-time New York Mets TV announcer, where he even copped an Emmy Award and kept us all in stitches with malapropisms for over 50 years.

R.I.P. RALPH KINER: OCTOBER 22, 1922- FEBRUARY 6, 2014

Sad to hear that Ralph Kiner passed away yesterday at the age of 91.
Kiner broke into Major League baseball with a "bang", leading the league in homers his rookie year in 1946 with 23, and kept on bashing, leading the league for the next six years, with a high of 54 in 1949 for the Pirates.
Even though his career lasted only 10 years, he still ripped 369 homers! That's an average of just under 37 homers a year for his career! Amazing. 
But what I personally remember the Hall of Fame slugger for was his long-time career in the New York Mets' broadcast booth, announcing games for over 50 years since their inaugural season in 1962, straight through my childhood in New York in the 1970's and '80's.
In 1977 Topps had a "Turn Back the Clock" card in their sub-set that celebrated his seven consecutive home run titles.
Take a look:

Rest in Peace Mr. Kiner... 1922-2104