In case you missed it, Saturday night was Ralph Kiner Night at Shea.
Among the great tributes was the announcement that the broadcast booth in Citi Field will be named in Ralph’s honor. BTW the current broadcast booth is also named after Kiner.
This is a nice touch. We’re glad to see the Mets are going to transfer some of their legacy from Shea. Here’s hoping they bring Kiner to Citi Field to call the first inning played there.
The Mets site has a nice wrap-up of all the Kiner tributes. 1969 Met Ed Charles wrote a poem in Ralph’s honor, which Gary Thorne read at the cocktail hour before Saturday’s on-field festivities (and how cool would it be to hang with Ralph at a cocktail hour). Here is the poem:
One Moment in Time
A Tribute to Ralph Kiner
By: Ed Charles
Life to us is just a moment in time
When we sing our songs and write our rhymes
When we audition for a role upon life's great stage
Then act out the scripts as written on the page
But some might resent the way the scripts were written
No one prefers the role of a loser snake bitten
We would like a role that brings honor and fame
Not some little bit part that belittles our name
For life to us is just a moment in time
Welcome to the big stage without a nickel or dime
We dream lofty dreams like others before
Then set out to achieve them like the ones we adore
But oft-times some of us misread our scripts
And meet with failure for our bumbling little slips
We replace the original scripts for those of our own
Putting our trust and fate in a destiny unknown
For life to us is just a moment in time
A personal struggle to keep our heads above the slime
A daunting task that beclouds our days
Until the curtains are drawn upon our plays
For the songs that we sing and the rhymes that we write
Are but spiritual reflections of our souls in flight
Some soar gracefully and some are like wingless birds
Grounded and stage frightened for frail are their nerves
But you Ralph Kiner are as composed as one can be
Nothing could sway you from the goals that you set for thee
For you aced your audition with a bat and a glove
Then astounded us with spiels about the game that we love
You kept us in touch with the Glory Days of yore
When character not steroids were the hallmark of a pro
When egos were kept in check by codes of conduct
And ostracism befell those who dared act up
So today we pause to celebrate your climb
From the boondocks to Shea to this moment in time
And to say with affection how grateful we are
That you chose baseball and big Shea to fashion your star
For you are an original, a beloved New York Met
A Pirate and a Hall of Famer, as good as they get
For your moment in time is a mighty fine show
And today the Mets family wanted to tell you so
For now you are a legend like Mays and DiMaggio
And all honors upon you today we admiringly and proudly bestow
Comments
I'm glad they're showing appreciation for Ralph too. The Kiner-Murphy-Nelson trio WAS the voice of the Mets for the first 16 years of the team's existence, and Ralph is the only one still living. It's hard not to get nostalgic listing to Ralph.