Baseball Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner tells this story in his autobiography:
“After the season in which I hit 37 home runs, I asked Pittsburgh Pirate general manager Branch Rickey for a raise. He refused.
‘I led the league in homers,’ I reminded him.
‘Where did we finish?’ Rickey asked me.
‘Last,’ I replied.
‘Well,’ Rickey said, ‘We can finish last without you.’”
