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A lot has been said about Ralph Kiner of late, here and elsewhere. There's even been a Mets Stat of the Day detailing the extraordinary pace at which he hit home runs over the first eight seasons of his career. (Spoiler alert if you haven't seen it: He was the best.) However, I decided that a little more attention was owed to such a stupendous feat.
This time, I graphically evaluated the per-game pace at which Kiner hit home runs over the first seven seasons of his career—the years that he led the league in longballs. Then I added the per-game pace that it took some of the other greatest home run hitters of all time to reach 294 home runs—the number Kiner had after seven seasons.
Once again, spoiler alert: Kiner was the best.
*NOTE: Kiner's per-game pace to reach 294 home runs was actually topped by both Ryan Howard and Juan Gonzalez; however, I wouldn't place either player in that same Hall of Fame-caliber class.
