By MIKE PUMA
New York Post
New York Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner gestures while speaking on 'Ralph Kiner Night' Saturday, July 14, 2007 at Shea Stadium in New York. In the background are photographs of him during his broadcasting career. The Mets pulled out all the stops to honor the voice of the team since it started playing in 1962.
July 15, 2007 -- After 46 seasons in the Mets’ broadcast booth, Ralph Kiner last night stepped into the Shea Stadium spotlight to receive a few cheers.
Bob Feller, Yogi Berra, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman were among those in attendance to honor Kiner during a pregame ceremony.
Kiner, 84, still makes occasional appearances as a Mets’ television analyst, several years removed from working a full-time schedule. He has no plans to retire, but the team celebrated his years of service, presenting him with a cruise to a destination of Kiner’s choice.
Kiner, who played on notoriously bad Pirates teams during his major league career, reflected on his start here - Mets president George Weiss hired him in 1962 after Kiner had completed his first season in the White Sox radio booth.
1953 Bowman
“I asked Weiss, ‘Why me?’ ” Kiner said. “He said, ‘We checked your record and you have losing experience.’ ”
It was Kiner who joined Bob Murphy and Lindsey Nelson to form the Mets’ original broadcast team, a crew that remained intact for 17 seasons.
“People forget how good a broadcaster, just simply a play-by-play guy, that Ralph was in his prime,” Mets TV voice Gary Cohen said. “Most people remember him from his later years as a guy who told stories and brought a slice of baseball history to the broadcast, but if you go back 25 years, Ralph was involved in all the play-by-play, and he was terrific.”
And then there was “Kiner’s Korner,” the television post-game show Kiner hosted for decades that helped transform the Hall-of-Fame slugger into a Mets icon.
Mets broadcaster Howie Rose said he’s never seen Kiner lose his temper, a special quality that has endeared him to his broadcast partners and fans alike over the years.
“The closest I ever saw to Ralph getting angry was in San Diego about 10 years ago,” Rose said. “He used to smoke cigars all the time, and somebody came in and said very apologetically: ‘I’m sorry Mr. Kiner, but there’s a state ordinance that says you can’t smoke this in public, I’m going to have to ask you to put the cigar out.’ And Ralph just gives the guy a look and says, ‘You know, California used to be a great state.’ That’s the closest I ever saw to him being angry.”
Cohen said there’s probably nobody in the world who has signed more free autographs than Kiner.
“I’ve never seen him turn anybody down. He treats everybody with respect,” Cohen said. “He never gets ruffled. He’s simply as comfortable in his own skin as anybody I’ve ever been introduced to.”
mpuma@nypost.com
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