Joseph Bernard Depastino was born on September 4, 1973 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The big six foot two right hand hitting catcher was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1992 in the seventh round of the draft.
DePastino would spend thirteen seasons in the minor leagues, batting .266 with 88 HRs 174 doubles & 470 RBIs. He would post a .988 fielding % while throwing out 34% of would be base stealers. He arrived in the Mets organization in 2002 batting .298 & throwing out 40% of would be base stealers behind the Norfolk Tides regular catcher Jason Phillips.
In 2003 he was the Tides main catcher as Jason Phillips went North getting promoted to the Mets big league club. DePastino batted .267 but only hit 2 HRs with 16 doubles & 22 RBIs. Defensively he once again was steady (.995 fielding %).
As Mike Piazza was down with an injury, Depastino made a brief appearance in the major leagues. He got to appear in two games on a Houston road trip in early August going 0-2 while donning the uniform #10. He caught one inning behind the plate, as a battery mate of Mike Stanton.
After his playing days he landed a job in the Detroit Tigers organization, managing the A ball West Michigan White Caps from 2008-2010. He now serves a s a Tigers roving catching coordinator.
Darren A. Douglass Reed was born on October 16, 1965 in Ojai, California. He attended high school in Ventura California getting drafted by the AL New York team in the third round of the 1984 draft.
In 1987 between AA & AAA he hit 28 HRs with 95 RBIs, making him look like a desirable prospect. That winter he was traded along with Phil Lombardi & Steve Frey to the New York Mets for Rafael Santana. He never matched those power numbers again, hitting just9 HRs in 345 at bats at AAA Tidewater the next year.
In 1990 he hit 17 HRs with 21 doubles & 74 RBIs getting him two call ups to the Mets. After hitting just .126 in six games in May he was sent back down returning in mid August. His average fell below .100 by September 30th when he hit his first career HR in a game at Shea against the Chicago Cubs. He finished the year hitting .205 with four doubles one HR & two RBIs in 26 games played.
At the start of the 1991 season he was traded to the Montreal Expos for two minor leaguers. He would get traded to the Minnesota Twins during the season batting a combined .185 in 56 games. In his two year career Reed batted .183 with 23 hits 6 HRs 16 RBIs & 8 doubles
Ralph McPherran Kiner was born October 27, 1922 in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He was raised by his mother in Alhambra, California and got signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1941.
He made his MLB debut in 1946 and led the NL in HRs right away with 23. Kiner would set a record for either leading the league or tying for the league lead for seven straight years. He would hit over 40 for five straight years, and drive in over 100 runs five straight seasons, six out of seven times.
During his Pirate years he would lead the league in walks three times, RBIs, games played & runs scored at least once. In that 1949 he had his best season leading the league with the second most HRs in NL history 54, and driving in 127 runs, and drawing 117 walks. He also scored 116 runs, hit 19 doubles and batted a career high .310, with a .658 slugging percentage.
With all that the obscurity of playing in Pittsburgh only put him fourth in the MVP voting. The short porch in right field at Forbes Field was built for Kiner & team mate Hank Greenberg, it became known as "Kiner's Korner".
His 54 HRs were the most in the major leagues from 1939 to 1960, and the most in the NL total from 1931 to 1997. He was also the first National League player to ever have two fifty-plus seasons. He was selected to six straight All Star games from 1948-1953, where he holds the MLB record of 8 HRs in 4 consecutive multi-homer games.
Ralph was a star on a poor Pirates team who had some famous owners. Bing Crosby was part of a Hollywood group who owned the Pirates. With those connections Ralph managed to date a young Elizabeth Taylor, and Janet Leigh. He was married to tennis star Nancy Chaffe and became very close friends with Olympic swimmer Ester Williams. The Kiners were neighbors with Lucille Ball & Desi Arnez and their children grew up together.
Ralph moved to Palm Springs in the 1950’s and it became a haven for Hollywood stars. Many became friends with Ralph. He played in all the Palm Springs golf classics with the likes of Crosby, Arnez, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Paul Hogan, Frank Sinatra and many others. Ralph was also a pioneer in developing the Players’ Union in its early stages and setting up pension plans. Although many of these attempts fell short but laid the ground work for the strong Players Union of today.
Each season Kiner had salary disputes with Pirate general manager Branch Rickey, who reportedly told him, "We finished last with you; we can finish last without you." Then on June 4, 1953, Kiner was sent to the Chicago Cubs as part of a ten player trade.
For the rest of the 1953 season in Wrigley Field he hit 28 HRs totaling 35. He began to suffer from back issues and it affected his power swing. He hit 22 HRs in 1954 in 147 games played with the back problems. He was traded to Cleveland after their 1954 Championship season and ended his career there after one season. The bad back forced him to retire at the young age of 32.
If he had been healthy and continued to play there is a good chance Kiner may have been the all time HR champ or at least in the top few. In his short ten year career he hit 369 HRs, 1019 RBIs, 1471 hits, a .279 batting average, a .548 slugging percentage in 1472 games played.
Broadcasting career: In Kiner became GM for the old San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, and did interviews at the Bing Crosby golph tournaments. In 1960 he got a job doing post game interviews with his old Pirates team. In 1961, Kiner had his first season in broadcasting, working with the Chicago White Sox and his old pal Hank Greenburg.
The next year he landed the job as the exball baseball player, announcing games for the expansion New York Mets on WOR-TV in New York. His partners were the already established Linsey Nelson & former Boston Red Sox broadcaster Bob Murphy. The three would all land in the broadcasters section of Cooperstown, bringing Mets games to a generation or two of Met fans for 15 classic seasons.
As an announcer, Kiner became legendary for his slow dry delivery, his mispronouncing of names and his colorful phrases. He once called Dwight Gooden "Greg Gossen" and Darryl Strawberry "Darryl Throneberry", referring back to Mets players of the 1960s.
One of his all time great quotes was "Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water and the other third is covered by Garry Maddox". Others include: "If Casey Stengel was alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave.”, ‘All of the Mets losses on the road occurred at Dodger Stadium”.
"The reason the Mets have played so well at Shea this year is they have the best home record in baseball." "This one deep to right and it is way back, going, going, it is gone, no off of the top of the wall."He also once said that Nolan Ryan's fastball had been clocked at 200 miles per hour and noted that Hall of Fame ceremonies were scheduled for "July 31 and 32."
“People forget how good a broadcaster, just simply a play-by-play guy, that Ralph was in his prime,” Mets TV voice Gary Cohen said. “Most people remember him from his later years as a guy who told stories and brought a slice of baseball history to the broadcast, but if you go back 25 years, Ralph was involved in all the play-by-play, and he was terrific.”
Mets broadcaster Howie Rose said he’s never seen Kiner lose his temper. “The closest I ever saw to Ralph getting angry was in San Diego about 10 years ago,” Rose said. “He used to smoke cigars all the time, and somebody came in and said very apologetically:
‘I’m sorry Mr. Kiner, but there’s a state ordinance that says you can’t smoke this in public, I’m going to have to ask you to put the cigar out.’ And Ralph just gives the guy a look and says, ‘You know, California used to be a great state.’ That’s the closest I ever saw to him being angry.” His traditional home-run call is "it is going, going, gone, goodbye".
Despite a bout with Bell's palsy, which left him with slightly slurred speech, Kiner still does occasional Mets broadcasts. He has been there since the Mets day one in 1962, 47 years and counting. He is the only broadcaster to survive all of the Mets history, due to Nelson leaving the Mets for the San Francisco Giants in 1979 and Murphy's retirement in 2003.
Kinerisms: Ralph is famous for his own language like Yogi Berra; his famous sayings are known as Kinerisms.
“3/4 of the earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Gary Matthews.”
"The Mets have gotten their leadoff hitter on only once this inning."
"All of his saves this season have come in relief appearances."
"Kevin McReynolds stops at third, and he scores."
"On Father’s Day, we again wish you all happy birthday."
"The Hall of Fame ceremonies are on the thirty-first and thirty-second of July."
"Tony Gwynn has been named player of the year for April."
"Half of Jeff King's extra base hits last year went for extra bases."
"The Mets are winless in the month of Atlanta"
"Hello everybody, welcome to Kiner's Korner, I'm Ron Kiner."
"Hello everybody, welcome to Kiner's Korner, I'm Ralph Korner."
"Hi everybody, welcome to Shea Stadium where this afternoon, a couple of left-handers will be going to the, uh, well, actually a lefty and a right, well no, two right-handers today."
Ralph called Hubie Brooks "Mookie" for an entire show once.
Ralph also had an interesting interview with Choo Choo Coleman in the Mets early days, when he asked Choo Choo "What's your wife's name and what is she like?" Choo Choo replied "My wife's name is Mrs. Coleman and she likes me."
Kiner's Korner: Kiners Korner was a post game interview show following Mets home games hosted by Ralph. The show began during Shea Stadium’s inaugural 1964 season and ran consecutively for over 20 years. The star of the ball game from either team, would be a Ralph’s guest and talk about the game answering a few questions. The guest would usually receive a $100 check, which in the old days was a nice bonus for a player.
The "Kiner's Korner" theme song; was a German band march called "Flag of Victory". Kiners Korner was a great way for kids like myself to get familiar with the ball players in days before an internet or Sports television chanels.
Honors: Kiner was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. He is also a member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame, inducted in 1984. The Sporting News placed him at # 90 on the list of “The 100 Greatest Baseball Players". The Pirates retired his uniform number 4 in 1987, and honored him with a statue outside of PNC Park.
The Mets honored him with "Ralph Kiner Night" at Shea Stadium on July 14, 2007, where Tom Seaver gave a speech recalling Kiner's legacy. Other Mets greats to attend were Yogi Berra, Bud Harrelson, Ed Kranepool, Jerry Koosman, Ed Charles, Rusty Staub, Keith Hernandez, Rusty Staub, Also on hand were Ralphs friends Hall of Famer Bob Feller and broadcaster Ernie Harwell.
Next year will be the Mets & Kiners 50th anniversary together. He still does a few innings of certain broadcasts usually on a Sunday afternoon. He still tells great old baseball stories & will forever be remembered as a baseball legend.
Rocco Daniel Baldelli was born September 25, 1981 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He was a gifted high school student posting a 4.25 grade average & starring in four sports. He earned All State honors in track, basketball, volley ball & baseball. He would have attended Wake Forest on a baseball scholarship but signed as first round pick with the Tampa Bay Rays instead. In 2002 he hit .331 at all three minor league levels getting to the Tampa big league club by 2003.
He had a fantastic rookie year batting .289 with 32 doubles 11 HRs 78 RBIs & 27 stolen bases. He led all A.L. center fielders in assists (15) for the first of two straight seasons, was second in put outs & posted a .989 fielding percentage.
Baldelli began to get compared with Joe Dimaggio, sharing similar abilities, both being of Italian heritage, wearing #5 & playing center field. Al LaMacchia, a professional scout for over 50 years, went so far as to call Rocco "Joe's twin".
In 2004 he put up similar numbers: .280 average 16 HRs 74 RBIs 27 doubles & 17 steals, with a .978 fielding percentage.
In 2005 he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the off season. requiring surgery. Before his return he was set back again as he needed Tommy John surgery. He missed a season & a half returning in June of 2006. He went on to hit a career high .302 with 16 HRs 24 doubles 10 stolen bases & 57 RBIs in only 364 at bats. In 2007 he pulled his hamstring & worsened it when he attempted to play. He began to suffer from fatigue & doctors found metabolic abnormalities.
His physical condition made it impossible for him to play & he held an emotional press conference in 2008 informing the media of his state. He took medication & supplements and made it back to the Rays for 28 games of the 2008 season.
Post Season: He made their post season roster & enjoyed the teams first season of success. In Game #3 of the ALCS he hit a 3 run HR off Boston's Paul Byrd to give Tampa the Series lead.
In the Series he hit .333 going 2-6 in two games. In the World Series he had a double play assist in the outfield of Game #2 against the Phillies. He went 1-6 in the Series.
After the season he was the winner of the Tony Conigliaro Award, as he overcame adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage. Further medical testing found that Baldelli suffers from a form of channelopathy, which makes his condition less serious and more treatable than previously thought.
In 2009 he signed with the Red Sox, playing in 62 games with 7 HRs 23 RBIs & a .253 average. His physical condition made it very hard for him to play and he became a free agent at the end of the season. He came back to Tampa as a coach & then signed a minor league deal. He got promoted & made it back to the Rays squad as a 2010 September call up.
He hit a dramatic HR in his Rays return in Baltimore, and played in ten games the rest of the season, batting .240. He got to play n the post season, going 0-3 in the ALDS against Texas.
Mark Patrick Johnson, was born on October 18, 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts. The big six foot 230 pounder attended Dartmouth University playing football there at quarterback. He was also a gifted baseball player, getting drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990. His minor league career didn’t take off until 1994 when he hit 23 HRs with 85 RBIs at AA Carolina.
Johnson joined the Pirates team in 1995 batting just .208 in 79 games, but in 221 at bats he hit 13 HRs. In 1996 he became the Pirates main first baseman playing in 127 games; he hit 13 HRs again but had 343 at bats this year. He hit 24 doubles driving in 47 runs posting a .345 on base % batting .274.
Over the next two seasons he only appeared in ten games at the major league level. He was placed on waivers, picked by the Cincinnati Reds then sent to the Anaheim Angels. He also played one season in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers in 1999. In 2000 he was signed as a free agent by the New York Mets. He joined the club in May and debuted as a pinch hitter on May 16th at Shea Stadium against the Colorado Rockies.
He got his first start on May 19th batting 7th & playing left field in game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the 4th inning he drove in his first run grounding out as Robin Ventura scored. On June 26th after not playing for a month he hit a HR against Florida Marlins raising his average to just .200. He remained on the club through the end of July when he was sent to AAA Norfolk after batting just .182. He did not make the post season roster.
He began the 2001 season with the club but after five games in April was sent back down. He returned in early June and hit a three run HR in an interleague game at Tampa Florida. Two days later he hit another during the series finale in Tampa.
On the same road trip he drove in two more runs, at Baltimore but went hitless in three games of the subway series. On July 14th he hit a two run HR driving in both runs helping Glendon Rusch in the Mets 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.
One of his career highlights came in Pittsburgh on September 17th in the first game played after the 911 attacks. Johnson came to bat as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning after Rey Ordonez had singled to put the Mets ahead. Johnson doubled to right field just missing a HR, driving in Jay Payton & Ordonez as the Mets won the game 4-1.
In the first game played back in New York on the night Mike Piazza hit his famous 911 HR, Johnson appears on the scorecard but never came to bat, as he never stepped up to the plate after his announcement. In 71 games that season Johnson batted .254 with 6 HRs 6 doubles & 23 RBIs, posting a .338 on base %. He played 21 games at first base & 19 games in the outfield.
He returned for his third season with the Mets in 2002 playing in 42 games but after batting just .137 he was sent to AAA Norfolk in early june. He finished out the year there batting .259 with 14 HRs & 37 RBIs.
In his seven year career Johnson batted .232 with 229 hits 38 HRs 50 doubles 154 walks 137 RBIs & a .338 on base %.
On what would have been John Lennon's 71st birthday, Paul McCartney chose to get married. As a die hard Beatles fan, "maybe I'm amazed" (or not) at some of the decisions & comments Paul has made since Johns tragic passing so many (31) years ago. Most notably wanting to change the song writing credits to McCartney/ Lennon changing the pact the two had made "all those years ago" as kids.
Of all days to wed, why pick John's birthday? And not for nothing why pick the same place (Old Marylebone Town Hall Registry Office) he married Linda Eastman back in 1969?
Don't get me wrong I love Paul & wish him "all the best" with his new lovely American wife Nancy Shevell. I just feel his timing is sometimes off, many of us Beatles fans consider John's birthday a special day which we remember in his honor. I know fans still gather at Strawberry Fields in Central Park in Johns memory, I did so for twenty years.
I still don't understand why he wants to wed for a third time at his age, or at any age for that matter. I don't think he plans to have anymore children, but what do I know. At least we know Nancy isn't after his money since she is very successful & wealthy.
Paul met Nancy in the Hampton's & have been dating for four years. She is an heiress & executive V.P. to a freight trucking conglomerate, Administration of New England Motor Freight, Inc. (NEMF) and the Shevell Group of Companies.
The ceremony was low key although there were many fans on hand & alot of media attention. A small reception followed at Paul's home in St. John's Wood with family & friends. Among those in attendance were Ringo Starr & his wife Barbra Bach, Rolling Stone Ron Wood, Twiggy & guitarist Jeff Beck. Paul's children were all on hand I believe & much happier than his last nightmare of a marriage to Heather Mills.
"Remember" John Lennon: Born October 9, 1940
