H A L L   O F   F A M E   I N D U C T E E S

Ralph Kiner · Elected 1965
Left Field, Detroit Sound, Detroit Griffins, Brooklyn Superbas, Washington Monuments · 1951-1961

In 1951, Ralph Kiner of the Detroit Sound burst into the inaugural UL season with an MVP campaign and All-Star selection, on the back of 37 home runs, 127 RBIs, and 125 walks, leading the league in all three categories.  He also had the highest OBP and runs created that season (.435 and 132 respectively), and hit .305 and scored 118 runs for with a team that would finish second, just three games back.  The greatest testament to Kiner's wonderful UL career is that represented only the start of his production.

It would be another  nine years before the Sound performed that well again, and although Kiner dropped a beat with a .241/.381/.506 campaign in '52 (still, most sluggers would have been happy with that), by 1953 Kiner was back to his dominant best.  Again named to the All-UL team, Kiner broke the league home run record with 41 and cemented his position as a bat guaranteed to drive in 100, score 100 runs and walk 100 times every year.  '54 and '55 brought more success, another "Ullie", and finally a big money contract - almost $40 million over the next four seasons.  But did financial security cause Kiner to lose his edge?

It would seem not.  Ralph Kiner's 1956 might have been the best offensive season in the history of the UL - it was 180 points better in OPS than any other campaign of his, and over 130 points better than any other season in UL history.  Even with missing a month due to an inflamed cruciate ligament, Kiner hit 37 homers and drove in 114, with a career high 48 doubles and 88 walks, finishing .346/.456/.735 to take home his second MVP (yet somehow, for the third year running, the Sound lost over 90 games).  While he never hit quite so well again, the popular conception that Kiner begun to falter was wrong: in fact, '57 and '58 were better offensive seasons than '54 and '55, as he hit 75 homers, drove in 257 and walked 232 times over those two years.

1958 was Kiner's last year in Detroit, as the renamed Griffins sought to get younger.  In a blockbuster trade, Kiner headed to division rivals Brooklyn along with 3B Ray Jablonski in return for Minnie Minoso, a bunch of arms and a couple of high draft picks.  Kiner didn't settle quite so well in Brooklyn as his contact skills diminished: Kiner hit just .232, 50 points down from the year before, and only 13 homeruns.  His eye was still sharp, drawing 94 walks, but he arrived one year to early (or two years too late) to capture that elusive championship.  Brooklyn let him walk that offseason, and the Monuments swooped in to add the veteran to their roster on a three-year deal.  But Kiner fell fast: a man who had struck out only 55 times in 532 ABs during his rookie season whiffed an incredible 130 times in 357 ABs, hit only .196 with 24 extra-base hits.  Kiner's eye still made sure he reached base at a .300 clip, but as a useful OF, Kiner's career was over.  He struggled through another 13 ABs in 1961 (striking out six times) in which he hit his 321st homer, drove in his 1059th run and recorded his 1082nd walk before slipping into the minors.  In January 1961, Kiner was named UL Player of the Decade.  At the end of that year, he retired.

Kiner's unproductive last seasons should not obscure his position as one of the best hitters in UL history.  During the first eight years of the league, Detroit's own Kiner was the most devastating offensive force in the game, averaging 37 homers, 118 RBIs and 115 walks a year, winning two MVPs and making five All-Star teams.  He finished with a career .404 OBP, .544 SLG and .948 OPS, even with three down years at the tail end of his career.  He finished in the top three in OBP five times, SLG three times, OPS five times, RBIs seven times as well as home runs and walkss eight times.  The man from Santa Rita, New Mexico was the greatest hitter in the UL's first decade. The Hall of Fame awaits.  (Doug Aiton)

 
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Hall of Fame (1965)
Player of the Decade (1951-60), All-Decade Team (1951-60)
Most Valuable Player (1951, 1956), All-UL Team (1951, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957), Gold Glove Award (1957)
Home Run Champion (1951, 1953), RBI Champion (1951, 1953, 1956), OPS Champion (1953, 1956)
5-time Batter of the Month, 14-time Player of the Week