Ron was a left-handed pitcher who played in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system from 1967-71. He was with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, the Cedar Rapids Cardinals, and the St. Petersburg Cardinals.

In 1967, Ron pitched for Ric Lessmann’s Meramec team that finished third at the JUCO national tournament. That season Kinney posted a record of 9-0, averaged two strikeouts per inning and posted a sparkling 0.45 earned run average. Kinney, who won two MVP awards, was the pitching coach for the UMSL Rivermen in 1972-73.