Not many athletes can say they got to meet a new family member prior to taking the field. For Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, he had a chance to meet Scott Kiner, son of former Pirates Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner, before Monday’s game against the New York Mets.
The second cousins had a chance to meet for the first time as they exchanged hugs in the Shannon Forde Press Conference Room at Citi Field. He had never met anyone from Ralph Kiner’s side of the family before.
“This is something that I’ve always dreamed about,” Kiner-Falefa said, per the Associated Press.
Scott Kiner, who lives in Ohio, had traveled to New York City to promote a book he wrote about his family. As a result, the Mets and Pirates were able to arrange this emotional meeting.
Kiner-Falefa signed a Pirates jersey and gave it Scott Kiner when the two met. On the other hand, Scott Kiner gave Kiner-Falefa a Ralph Kiner jersey along with a charcoal painting of the legendary outfielder. He also showed Kiner-Falefa a portait of Mary McPherran Kiner, who was Ralph Kiner’s great grandmother and Kiner-Falefa’s great-great-great grandmother.
Ralph Kiner has a connection to both franchises as he played eight of his 10 seasons with the Pirates. After retiring from the sport in 1955, Kiner ended up serving as a Mets broadcaster for 51 years. He even hosted a postgame show called “Kiner’s Korner.”
Kiner-Falefa was reinstated from the injured list prior to Monday’s game after previously dealing with a right hamstring strain. When he stepped into the batter’s box, the Mets played the “Kiner’s Korner” theme song.
During his second inning at-bat, Kiner-Falefa slugged a 382-foot home run to left-center field to open the scoring at Citi Field. It marked his first home run since Aug. 17, 2024.
“I don’t think I’ve hit a ball that hard all year,” Kiner-Falefa said. “So I was like, man, I don’t even know where that came from.”
Kiner-Falefa’s maternal grandfather attended college in Hawai’i and ended up having two daughter. One of which was Kiner-Falefa’s mother, and due to the fact that his mother and father never got married, the Pirates infielder used both last names. Kiner-Falefa’s grandfather told him stories about Ralph Kiner when he was growing up.
While the Pirates lost 4-3 to the Mets on Monday, this certainly has to go down as quite a memorable day for Kiner-Falefa.
This news was originally published on this post .
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