 Ralph Kiner was a 2014 inductee into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Ralph's sole connection to New Mexico is that he was born in 1922 in Santa Rita, now a ghost town but at the time, a copper mining town in Grant County, New Mexico. He attended high school in Alhambra, California and then attended Pasadena City College and University of Southern California, signing a contract with the Pittsburg Pirates in 1941. Like many other players, he entered the armed forces after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Kiner served in the United States Navy as a pilot in World War II, afterwards making his debut with the Pirates on April 16, 1946 and playing his final game September 25, 1955.
During his 10 year career, he played with the Pirates, the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. He was an everyday player, most often in the outfield, averaging about 144 games per year. He was also a good hitter with a lifetime batting average of .279 and 369 home runs. Though the records have since been surpassed, he broke three of Babe Ruth's hitting records, being the fastest player to hit 100, 200 and 300 home runs. He also led the National League in home runs for seven consecutive years and all of Major League Baseball for six. His career eventually ended due to injuries and Kiner was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. Ralph is probably better known to most baseball fans as an announcer, calling every game of the New York Mets from the team's inception until his death earlier this year on February 6, 2014. During his 53 seasons in broadcasting, he was known for his wit, his humor and also for his tongue-twisting and wrongly-worded expressions, some of which are listed below: "If Casey Stengel were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave." "The Mets have gotten their leadoff batter on only once this inning." "On Father's Day, we again wish you all happy birthday." "Solo homers usually come with no one on base." "There is a lot of heredity in that family." A sample of Kiner's many links and references: Career statistics on Baseball-Reference.com. Broadcasting quotes from the Baseball Almanac.
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Terry Landrum is from Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated from Highland High School. He was a good high school athlete with a desire to play professional baseball, despite not playing the sport in high school. Landrum wanted to attend junior college rather than a four year college, but he caught the eye of the baseball coach of a small school, Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilbarton. However, only a couple of months into his freshman year, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club. Despite the quick start, his professional career was a long time developing as he slowly worked his way up from A ball in 1973 to AAA before breaking into the big leagues in 1980. His minor league stops included Orangeburg (A) in the Western Carolina League, St. Petersburg (A+) in the Florida State League, Arkansas (AA) in the Texas League, and Tulsa and Springfield (AAA) in the American Association.  He began his nine year career as an outfielder in Major League Baseball with the Cardinals on July 23, 1980 at age 25, playing with them from 1980 to 1983 before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles late in the season. He rejoined the Cardinals from 1984 to 1987. Late in the 1987 season, he was released by the Cardinals and picked up as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers for the remainder of the 1987 season. His final year in the big leagues was 1988 when he returned to the Orioles. Landrum played his final game in the majors on May 9, 1988 at age 33.
Landrum relates that he tried to get a job in baseball upon retiring as a player but none were forthcoming. That door being closed, he resumed his college education at New York University, where he obtained a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy. He was honored by being selected to make the valedictory address to his graduating class, though others had a higher grade point average. He commented that this honor exceeded the thrill of appearing in three World Series in baseball. Terry believes that he learned valuable life lessons in his baseball career. He never gave up, despite it taking him eight years to reach the major leagues. And once he achieved that, he said "I was not an everyday player. I would stay late and listen to everybody. I accepted criticism. That was the only way to learn." [New York Times Archive, November 22, 1998] Applying these lessons to his education, he then engaged his work ethic to learning, devoted the time to his education that it required and remained teachable and inquisitive, giving him a life after baseball. [Vernon Stephens is not a product of New Mexico schools, but from time to time we will write about such people and hope you enjoy the diversion.] Vernon Decatur Stephens, Jr. was born in tiny McAlister (Quay County), New Mexico. He was known as "Junior" and was the son of a minor league umpire, Vernon Stephens, Sr., who was a farmer by trade. Born in Oklahoma Territory, Vernon, Sr. and his wife Grace decided to head west in 1920, getting as far as New Mexico where Vernon, Jr. was prematurely delivered. This, however, is likely Junior's only connection with New Mexico, as the family continued on west, eventually settling in Long Beach, California. Consequently, we will only do this brief sketch about him. If you would like to read more about him, please see the excellent article on Vern from SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research, written by Mark Armour.  Junior played shortstop for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles from 1941-1955. Stephens made his debut at the age of 20 when he suited up with the St. Louis Browns on September 13, 1941. He was known as a hard hitting shortstop. His career totals included 1,859 hits, 1001 runs scored, 247 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .248.
Career highlights: 8-time All-Star Six times in the Top 10 in MVP voting Led the American League in home runs in 1945 Three times led the American League in RBI Collected 440 RBI within three consecutive seasons (1948–50) Three times in the Top 10 in batting average Twice led the American League in games played Inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006 Vernon's career statistics match up favorably with today's well known players. He was a very good hitter and fielder of the period in which he played. With respect to amounts paid in professional baseball these days, his highest salary of about $40,000 would seem modest. He was a quality player and enjoyed a nice career. Junior retired from baseball at age 35 and died of a heart attack at age 48. In recognition of the upcoming start of the New Mexico high school baseball season, we profile MLB pitcher Steve Ontiveros. Steve was born and raised in Tularosa (Otero County), New Mexico. He graduated from University of Michigan, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. Steve was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the second round of the 1982 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft. For the next three seasons, he played for minor league teams in the Oakland organization, working his way up from A- to Oakland's AAA affiliate in Tacoma Washington in the Pacific Coast League, notching a record of 25-12. Along the way, he was part of a very strong A's farm system, playing along side many players who eventually enjoyed long careers in major league baseball.  He began his major league career with the Oakland Athletics, making his major league debut on June 14, 1985. He was initially used as a reliever on a squad that included Don Sutton and Tommy John as pitchers and other notable players like Dave Kingman and Dusty Baker. Steve played a total of 10 seasons in the league, appearing with Oakland from 1985 to 1988 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1989 and 1990. He was sidelined in 1991 and 1992 with an injury. Ontiveros was signed in early 1993 with the Minnesota Twins but before the season began, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners where he played the 1993 season. He rejoined the Oakland club in 1994 and 1995, signing as a free agent. Steve returned to the minors before signing with the Boston Red Sox for one final season in 2000, playing his final game on October 1, 2000.
Ontiveros was a right handed starting and relief pitcher. His lifetime career record was 34-31 with an ERA of 3.67. He appeared in 207 games, starting 73 of them. Steve also appeared in one feature film, Talent of the Game in 1991. Steve currently trains and mentors gifted pitching prospects in Scottsdale, AZ in his own business, Spin Doctor. |
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We post articles of general interest about New Mexico athletes, coaches and sports. Some names will already be familiar to you. Others are perhaps not as well known, but we hope you enjoy them all. Archives
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