G-Fafif

For the sake of the historical record, don't be shy about letting them know -- nicely, of course. The very able Ted Berg did a wonderful piece for USA Today about his Kinerrific experiences from SNY, but in the rush to get it posted, a picture of Ralph with Stan Musial and Yogi Berra identified his photomates as Bob Murphy and Lindsey Nelson. I courteously let Ted know and it got fixed (albeit not before there were several "what kind of dopes...?" posts circulating around). And honestly, I don't think SI would fire anybody for not recognizing the Boston Braves...though it might be a more accurate world if that sort of thing was was considered a serious internal offense. Every day for at least a year I've received an email from SI letting me know I can order a framed copy of the 2012 "Sportsman of the Eyar" cover.

Ralph really was the best. When I first encountered Jayson Stark in the 80s he was doing the Philly Inquirer's baseball columns I could barely believe how he'd call out "Kinerisms" as though Ralph were some kind of clown like Bob Uecker or an idiot jock who couldn't communicate, when Ralph was neither of those things. His malaprops were relatively few even among actual broadcasters. I mean, he was a real knowledgeable baseball guy with a sense of humor who could call a close game or tell a funny story. Fucking up phrases was barely a part of him. Was it or was it? Stark insists Ralph was in on the fun. I never got to see the late, great Ralph Kiner swing a bat. But I was lucky enough to spend many summer evenings listening to him speak into a microphone. And it was hard to think of a better way to pass a few hours than that, on many levels. Ralph Kiner was a beautiful man. Try to find anyone who ever met him who didn't love him, or love being around him. Anyone. He had a story for every occasion. He saw the game on levels a lot of people didn't. And he had one of life's special gifts -- the ability to laugh at himself. I'm especially grateful for that last gift because, as anyone who read my old Week in Review column in the Philadelphia Inquirer could tell you, I somehow became America's foremost collector of Ralph Kiner malapropism classics. It became, after a while, a weekly feature of that column, because, let's just say, there was never a shortage of those pearls to choose from. Collecting them was a labor of love, and it didn't require much labor. I heard many of them myself. And Kiner fans sent them to me by the hundreds. They were true treasures of American broadcasting. And the reason I felt free to relay them to the world was simple: Ralph didn't mind. Not one bit. His good friend and old Mets broadcast partner Tim McCarver used to assure me of that on a regular basis. And, at one point, I got a phone call, out of the blue from Danny Peary, an author who was writing a book with Ralph Kiner. Peary's question (of course): What were my favorite Kinerisms? After I relayed a few, I couldn't help but ask: "If you're writing a book with Ralph, why'd you call me?" "Ralph told me to call you," he said, "because you have the best collection of these of anyone." So before I start reminiscing about some of the greatest Ralph Kiner gems of all time, I needed to make that clear. Ralph Kiner understood those Kinerisms were part of his legend. And he was totally cool with that.

The Pirates have signed Omir Santos (or Omar Sanchez as Mrs. Fafif once referred to him) to a minor league deal. And did we know Pete Walker was the Blue Jays pitching coach? 'Cause he is.

Centerfield wrote: This is really a sad day for the Mets and all of baseball. I don't care that he was 91. He should have lived to 250 if it were up to me. Damn straight. Might have curtailed his innings to like three a year, but deep down I trusted Ralph to defy standard human chronology indefinitely.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: That's right. You were quoted as saying that an educated consumer is the best customer. Actually, for a while now the second-to-last page has been something called "The Big Picture" which includes a large photograph, and then a collection of tweets and other quotes sometimes, but not always, related to the large photo. Today it was all about Ralph Kiner. You were quoted as saying, "There has never been the Mets without Ralph Kiner. There will always be Ralph Kiner with the Mets. RIP." You came right between Gary Myers and Don Lagreca. I Tweeted that, which certainly cuts down on the News's need for reporting. (A more accurate quote than the time they man-on-the-streeted me about Willie Randolph's firing.) Thanks for letting me know.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: You probably know it by now, but you (Greg) were quoted in the Daily News today, on the second-to-last page. I did not know that. Isn't the second-to-last page the TV listings or a furniture ad?

Then a few years ago, they had Ralph visit the Fox booth. Joe Buck took a back seat. McCarver switched to play-by-play, and Ralph provided the color. Suddenly Tim was respectful, humble and not at all douchy for those few innings. Just like magic Tim was likeable again. Remember that brief reunion well; wrote about it at the time here. Kenny Albert was the announcer who pulled back and let Ralph and Tim be Ralph and Tim. Perhaps never was the phrase "the magic is back" more apropos. Greg, wow thanks for linking that. That was spot on. I think that's why that day resonates with us. That was the last time (and first time in years) we had the pleasure of listening to real Ralph. Thanks for capturing that moment for us. Man it must be nice to be a good writer. I remember that FAFIF piece because of the bit about Greg in a Delgado Mets jersey. I remember trying to visualize the lunch(?) date and to guess which Mets style jersey Greg was wearing (I guessed the pinstripe-less home whites). P.S. To all you fathers out there: "Happy Birthday". It was a DELGADO 21 t-shirt or, in the current vernacular, "shirsey". I'm too "cheap" to buy jerseys.

So nice of you to say, CF. It's great to have those thoughts of Ralph and Tim come back today. I came to eventually cherish the cameos Ralph made with GKR in the years that followed. That SNY and the Mets treated Ralph as an heirloom rather than a relic is to their eternal credit...and just good sense.

Tim on the FAN with Evan Roberts NOW!!!

Centerfield wrote: Then a few years ago, they had Ralph visit the Fox booth. Joe Buck took a back seat. McCarver switched to play-by-play, and Ralph provided the color. Suddenly Tim was respectful, humble and not at all douchy for those few innings. Just like magic Tim was likeable again. Remember that brief reunion well; wrote about it at the time here. Kenny Albert was the announcer who pulled back and let Ralph and Tim be Ralph and Tim. Perhaps never was the phrase "the magic is back" more apropos.

Interviews worth checking out: Bill Webb and Vin Scully at sny.tv. (You don't even think that somebody calling games today called games Ralph Kiner played in, but Scully talks about that.) Marty Noble at mlb.com Gary Cohen and Ron Darling with Steve Somers at wfan.com. Bobby Valentine, Keith Hernandez and (no, really) Fran Healy with Francesa at wfan.com.

Daily News football writer Gary Myers was Ralph's intern four decades ago. Great story here. I would put all the information on a score sheet for Kiner, then prepare the scoreboard that would be shown as he was reading the information on the post-game show. By far, the best part of the job was standing outside the Mets clubhouse if they won or the visitor's clubhouse if the Mets lost and rounding up the guests for Ralph. In the two years I had that job, not one player ever said no and it had nothing to do with the $50 they received for appearing on show, which, by the way, I thought that was a fortune compared to the $25 per game I was getting paid. Not only did all the players from around the National League know Ralph, they loved and respected him. Rose, Morgan, Mike Schmidt, Henry Aaron, Willie Stargell, Willie McCovey, Joe Torre � all I had to do was tell them Ralph wanted them and they would hustle to the studio. I would escort them down the hallway, sometimes they were still in their cleats, from the visitor's locker room behind the third base dugout to the Kiner's Korner studio behind the first base dugout. If the Mets won, it was about a 10-second walk. Either way, Kiner's Korner started not long after the game ended and it was my job to make sure the players were there on time. I never let Ralph down. The players considered it an honor when Ralph wanted them on Korner's Korner. Besides the $50, which in those days was enough to buy dinner, it was great exposure for them in the New York market.

Original and Forever.

Noble on mets.com here.

Mets statement on Twitter, here.

1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Every season, Ralph -- whether a lot or just enough to remind you why you were glad he was never not part of the Mets. Which he shall always be. RIP.

I believe the game you're thinking of was the last one of the first Marlins series, in April, the game famous in that moment for the Mets fielding an all home-grown lineup for the first time since 1971 (and a sweep of Jose Reyes's new team). Turner contributed big-time to running up Heath Bell's enormous pitch count. Listened to that game in the Hofstra cafeteria the first day of the 50th Anniversary conference.

What's it mean, from a technical standpoint, to have the Mets invite a player to Spring Training? I knew but I didn't know. So I asked.

Before we knew him for pie, we knew him for deserving facefuls of the stuff. Broke Ron Swoboda's Mets rookie record for most consecutive games with an RBI in 2011, though he disappointed me by admitting he had no idea who Ron Swoboda was. Remembering he was a cause celebre for the "why won't they give Mostly Unknown Quantity a chance?" crowd, though once he became known, the same psychographic demanded somebody besides Justin Turner get playing time. If I could pull his arm back once, it would've been June 1, 2012, when he drew a mustache on the Mona Lisa during Johan's post-no-no chat with Guys! Pick your pie spots, kid. Was part of one group interview situation with him, at the 2011 holiday jam. "Nice kid," I remember thinking.

Won't Joe Benigno be relieved?

Big week for the 2006 Mets, who inspired "Easy Come, Easy Go" by Queens' own Caught In A Trap. Blogging Mets tells the story: http://www.bloggingmets.com/22813/hardcore-punk-song-2006-mets/

She got on the 7 train headed out to Queens, surrounded by hordes of people wearing orange and blue and also looking like they'd all suddenly put on a few pounds. Laurie got off at the Shea Stadium stop with the rest of them and found Eric standing on the walkway waiting for her. "Greetings, and welcome to Game One of the National League Championship Series. This is for you," he said, holding out a blue baseball hat with an "N" and a "Y" on it. I imagine somebody else here can speak more authoritatively to this title should he choose, but worth noting ASAP the publication of A Whole New Ballgame by Caryn Rose (Metsgrrl in non-fiction circles), a novel that is lousy -- in a good way -- with Metsiana c. 2006.

The case for Howie & Josh articulated well here, courtesy of W.M. Akers of the Classical. Since 2012, Rose has been backed up by Josh Lewin, a Rochester-born American League-refugee who peppers his color commentary with �Seinfeld� references, and does a piano man-imitation when he's not situated in the Peerless Boilers broadcast booth. After just two seasons, Rose and Lewin have the easy rapport of a pair of aging vaudevillians. They are endlessly, genuinely funny, calling games with a "just a couple of idiots" schtick that relishes all the absurdities that bad baseball so regularly provides.

Nimmo sneaks into Keith Law's Top 100 prospects at No. 92.

[youtube:2nz8bpaw]2bMB5xtCxqs[/youtube:2nz8bpaw] The Marlins get Ty! Ty! Ty! Wigginton, that is, on a minor league deal.