NEW YORK -- Tom Seaver's brain is packed with memories of Ralph Kiner, whose legendary broadcasting career took flight alongside Seaver's early days as a Met. So years later, when Seaver earned his way into the Hall of Fame -- to become brothers in history with one of his childhood idols -- his nerves just couldn't take it.
Forget the stress of officially joining the most romantic club in all of sport, the stress of delivering an emotional speech in front of thousands of people. Seaver was simply panicked over what Kiner would think.
He should have known better.
"I look at the back table," Seaver laughed. "And there was Ralph Kiner and Ted Williams talking and not paying one bit of attention to what I was saying. And what do you think they were talking about? Hitting."
That's the dedication to his craft that earned Kiner his own seat in the Hall of Fame despite playing just 10 years in the Major Leagues. It's a dedication that didn't stop with his playing days, as he's become the only Mets broadcaster to work with the team throughout each of its 46 years. And this dedication earned him the thrills of this Saturday night, when the Mets will celebrate "Ralph Kiner Night" at Shea Stadium.
Seaver, along with Yogi Berra, Bob Feller and a cast of Mets legends will help honor Kiner before the game with the Reds. On-field ceremonies start at 7 p.m. ET, with the game pushed back to 7:30 to accommodate the tribute. The first 25,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Kiner photo, courtesy of Mets-Steiner Collectibles.
It's certainly a night to celebrate Kiner -- the player -- and Kiner -- the broadcaster. In a decade-long career, Kiner swatted 369 homers, five times finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting. And in a broadcasting career that's lasted almost five times as long, Kiner won three Emmys.
But more than that, it's a night to celebrate Kiner the person. Known as much for his humanity as for his wacky sayings and slips of the tongue, Kiner has become one of the most beloved figures in Mets history -- without ever even suiting up in the orange and blue.
And he'll continue in just that fashion for as long as he possibly can.
"As long as I'm able to be around baseball, I'm going to hope to stay in baseball," Kiner said. "I just enjoy the game and I enjoy being there and being with the players. And you can't have a better life that that."
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