Ralph Kiner joined the Pirates in 1946, was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1953, and finished his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1955. At the age of thirty three, a bad back forced Kiner to retire.
It is difficult if not impossible to validly compare players from the same era much less from different eras, but it is undeniable that Ralph Kiner was an outstanding home run hitter who conquered the strike zone. Much is made with respect to a pitcher's walk to strikeout ratio but it is just a important for a hitter. As baseball has devolved since Kiner's time, so too has ratio of batters' walks to strikeouts as well as the "experts" respect for the statistic.
In 2004, major league hitters walk to strike out ratio was one walk for every two strikeouts while in 1947 the ratio was one walk for every one strikeout. Players in 2004 struck out twice as often as they walked. Ralph Kiner drew 1011 walks and struck out 749 times. He was a smart player with an outstanding feel for the game but he excelled only as a hitter. In the outfield, Kiner was sure handed, had an accurate but weak arm, and was slow.
In 1946, his rookie season, Kiner led the National League with 23 home runs, which was the lowest total for a National League home run champion since 1921. The following season, the Pirates acquired the services of great home run hitter Hank Greenberg and in order to take advantage of a Greenberg-Kiner slugging tandem, a double bull pen was created in left field at Forbes Field. The left field line was decreased to 335 feet from 365 feet and the left field power alley was shortened to 355 feet from 406 feet. Kiner hit 51 home runs, batted a career high .313, and led the league with .639 slugging average.
