Mets Announcer Tournament First Round: Ralph Kiner vs. Dave O'Brien

by James Kannengieser on Mar 11, 2009 12:00 PM EDT

Yesterday's results: Howie Rose (77%) def. Rusty Staub (23%). A resounding victory for Howie, who is a graduate of Cardozo H.S. in Bayside, Queens and also Queens College. Here is today's epic matchup:

Ralph Kiner VS. Dave O'Brien

TV Tenure (1962-Present) TV Tenure (2003-2005)

Poll

Amazin' Avenue Mets Announcer Tournament First Round

Ralph Kiner

376 votes

Dave O'Brien

22 votes

398 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 26 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Another mismatch, eh?

Dave O’Brien was decent but, c’mon . . . against Ralph? Poor guy.

'Oh yes, I know all about that duty-of-a-citizen stuff. It doesn't go. There are exceptions to every rule, and this was one of them. When a man risks his liberty to come and root at a ball-game, you've got to hand it to him. He isn't a crook. He's a fan.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 11, 2009 12:05 PM EDT reply actions

It's gotta be a shutout right?

2nd round should see some closer matchups

by James Kannengieser on Mar 11, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Apparently not

Pity vote, it appears.

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 11, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Nothing against O'Brien, I always thought he called a decent game

But I predict that Ralph will mop the floor with him today.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Mar 11, 2009 12:17 PM EDT reply actions

also

How can you not love that it says “1962-Present” (!) under Kiner’s picture?

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Mar 11, 2009 12:18 PM EDT reply actions

Above his picture, I mean

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Mar 11, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Gotta go Ralph here

O’Brien was ok, but c’mon it’s Ralph.

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Mar 11, 2009 12:25 PM EDT reply actions

Ralph!

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Mar 11, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions

I have absolutely no recollection of this man you call O'Brien

"Since we became accelerated readers, we never leave the house." - Los Campesinos

by Shomov on Mar 11, 2009 1:00 PM EDT reply actions

I am with you Shomov

I have no idea who is even being talked about. This is worse than a number 1 vers 16 seed. This is a number one vers the winner of the play-in game!!!

by Endys Game on Mar 11, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

me neither

I really have no recollection of the 2003-2005 broadcasters, which I guess makes sense b/c I stayed away at college for more than half of each of those summers, so I wasn’t watching a ton of Mets games. Plus the Mets blew.

by cjmulrain on Mar 11, 2009 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions

I do like O'Brien

And it reminds me of how much I hate games broadcast on Fox and ESPN. Overall, we’ve had some really solid announcers.

Gotta go with Kiner though. It’s amazing what he does at his age. He’s reaching (hell, reached and passed) a point where you would think that his appearances are more for ‘old time’s sake’ more than anything. But I find he makes really good observations still, absolutely loves the game, and keeps up with it. Further putting the Joe Morgans of the world to shame.

by theflicker on Mar 11, 2009 1:02 PM EDT reply actions

I love Ralph

You know, when he gets in the booth these days, he still sounds pretty good (for a guy his age), he treats the audience with respect and he doesn’t fall into the “the game was better in my day before the nerds ruined it” crap, and he’s still full of all those wonderful anecdotes about ballplayers from the 40s and 50s.

Plus, Ralph was good for a few timeless malapropisms in the Mets booth: “Today is father’s day, so to all you fathers out there: happy birthday!” and my personal favorite: “the distance down the lines here in Montreal is 99 liters, whatever that means”.

2009 Mets: maybe its the Phillies turn to have a terrible bullpen?

by Greenpoint Ian on Mar 11, 2009 1:04 PM EDT reply actions

Great stories

The Pirate’s GM getting rid of him story and the Ted Williams one were my favorite.

by Sokojoe on Mar 11, 2009 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

We finished last with you, we can finish last without you.

I get a fair amount of mileage out of that one in various contexts.

by JoshNY on Mar 11, 2009 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Stop the fight!

It’s a massacre. O’Brien doesn’t deserve this.

by Straight Flushing on Mar 11, 2009 1:24 PM EDT reply actions

I hate O'Brien

simply because of his butchering of soccer in WC 06 and Euros 2008.

Him and Marcel Balboa were dumb and dumber.

"I got my pregnant wife (the Yankee fan) with me. Hoping my kid learns to kick her everytime the Mets score." -Schifftis-

by future on Mar 11, 2009 1:42 PM EDT reply actions

What are you talking about?

‘Celo is… ok, he’s no Eric Wynalda, but he’s better than Foudy and not significantly better or worse than Harkes. And O’Brien is better than that blathering idiot Jack Edwards.

by JoshNY on Mar 11, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Marcelo Balboa

spent the entire tournament talking about how much he hated England. Even when England wasn’t playing. It’s amazing how someone could play football his entire life and know so little about analysis.

I could have done his job. All I had to do was Bash England whenever I could.

Being better than Julie Foudy at announcing is like being a slightly better human being than Hitler.

"I got my pregnant wife (the Yankee fan) with me. Hoping my kid learns to kick her everytime the Mets score." -Schifftis-

by future on Mar 11, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I would be great at that job

Nuts to the action on the pitch; I can spend hours ragging on the English.

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Mar 11, 2009 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions

So did Hitler, actually.

So can I, but no way am I taking any job that forces me to watch soccer.

by BobbyV_Incognito on Mar 12, 2009 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions

How the heck did O'Brien even get votes?

by Lunkwill Fook on Mar 11, 2009 1:45 PM EDT reply actions

Sympathy

for facing Ralph

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Mar 11, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions

What's up with these mismatches?

That sucks for the other guys.

I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!

by R_Adragna on Mar 11, 2009 3:15 PM EDT reply actions

1st round

Similar to the UConn vs. Southern Alabama type matchups we’ll be seeing next week.

by James Kannengieser on Mar 11, 2009 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Kiner

I wonder, if you asked 100 random people what team they associate Ralph Kiner with, what the breakdown would be. I bet a decent amount would say the Mets, which is kinda incredible for a guy who played the majority of a Hall of Fame career for the Pirates and retired 7 years before the Mets even came into existence. How many HOFers become more associated with a team that they never played for after their careers are over?

by cjmulrain on Mar 12, 2009 7:49 AM EDT reply actions