The Hitting Greatness of Ralph Kiner

Unfortunately, Ralph Kiner has passesd away today at the age of 91, and everyone is remembering him for his long reign as a legendary New York Mets broadcaster. But have we forgotten the reason why he is in the hall of fame? Even though his career was not that long (only 10 years) Kiner is one of the best sluggers of all-time. From 1946, his rookie season, to 1952, he lead the National League in home runs each year. He has 369 home runs in his career, and retired young, at age 32. Imagine if his career had more longevity, and he played till he was in his late 30's. His home run total would be up there, not quite with the Babe and Hank Aaron, but still pretty close. On a side note, and speaking of Ruth and Aaron, it would have been Babe Ruth's 119th birthday today, and yesterday was Hank Aarons 80th birthday. This is an extreme coincidence that I never even knew. The two real all-time home run leaders have their birthdays on back-to-back days? Insane.