RIP Ralph Kiner

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Today, a Hall of Fame player passed away at age 91. It seems like Kiner is a forgotten man amongst the greats of the past who played this game. His career numbers didn’t end up gaudy, but it’s hard to imagine a player in baseball history ever having a better prime or five-year stretch than the one Kiner put together from 1947 to 1951 in Pittsburgh.

During those years (beginning when he was 24 years old) he strung together home run totals of 51, 40, 54 47, and 42. His OPS over that span was 1.029. Back in that era before weights existed and PEDs and all of those evils, that’s nothing short of insanity. And the guy never won an MVP!

RIP, Kiner.