Commemorating Kiner

New York Mets broadcaster Ralph Kiner passed away on Feburary 6th, severing one of the last links to the beginning of the team’s history.

While Kiner’s role had been limited by his age and health in recent years, he had been involved in every Mets season from 1962 through 2013. Though he is no longer present, the Mets are doing several things to remember him this season.

• Players and coaches are wearing a commemorative patch on their right uniform sleeve.
• The logo will also be placed on the left field wall at Citi Field, and has been painted in the grass behind home plate at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
• There will be a “Kiner’s Korner” display at the New York Mets Hall of Fame and Museum at Citi Field, named in honor of Kiner’s long-running postgame show.

Some fans are hoping for a more permanent reminder of Kiner’s legacy. As we learned after Gary Carter‘s death, outfield logos only stay up for one season, and the Mets Museum displays get refreshed every year.

The New York Post reports that Mets fan Ed Solomon has launched a Twitter campaign to petition “for renaming Citi Field Sections 132-134 as Kiner’s Korner, commemorating the 52-year Mets career of Ralph Kiner.” More than a thousand people (including me) have followed the @MetKinersKorner account, “signing” the electronic petition.

I think it would be nice to have fans sitting in “Kiner’s Korner” at Citi Field, but I’m not hung up on the details. I just want to see a visible, permanent tribute to a Mets legend.

(And while we’re at it, let’s have some permanent, visible recognition for other Mets legends lost to the past, such as Bob Murphy and Carter.)

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