In his decades behind the microphone, Ralph Kiner — the beloved voice of the Mets who passed away Thursday — was known as much for his pearls of baseball wisdom as his mixups, mispronunciations and malapropisms. Here are a few of the best Kinerisms:
1. “On Father’s Day, we again wish you all Happy Birthday.”
2. “Solo homers usually come with no one on base.”
3.“All of his saves have come in relief appearances”
4. “If Casey Stengel were alive today, he’d be spinning in his grave.”
5. “We’ll be back after this word from Manufacturers Hangover.”
6. “All of the Mets road wins against the Dodgers this year occurred at Dodger Stadium.”
7. “Darryl Strawberry has been voted to the Hall of Fame five years in a row.”
8. “Hello everybody, welcome to Kiner’s Korner, I’m Ralph Korner.”
9. “Now up to bat for the Mets is Gary Cooper.”
10. “The hall of fame ceremonies are on the thirty-first and thirty-second of July.”
11. “The Mets have gotten their leadoff batter on only once this inning.”
12. “There’s a lot of heredity in that family.”
13. “Tony Gwynn was named player of the year for April.”
14. “You know what they say about Chicago. If you don’t like the weather, wait fifteen minutes.”