Ed Kranepool Could Truly Be Called Mr. Met

Ed Kranepool, who played his entire 18-year MLB career with the New York Mets, passed away yesterday of a heart attack. He was 79.

A native of the Bronx, Kranepool attended James Monroe High School (as did my Dad) and would reach the big leagues with the Mets at the tail end of the 1962 season at the age of 17. When Kranepool made his debut, the Mets were concluding their expansion year in which the team lost a modern MLB record 120 games (which might soon be surpassed by the Chicago White Sox). 

Kranepool was a fixture with the Mets in bad times to good times and back to bad times. He would collect 166 hits before the age of 20. Only Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Robin Yount as well as Chicago Cubs star Phil Cavaretta would have more. For all of his longevity with the Mets, Kranepool was only named to the NL All-Star Team once in 1965 and did not play. 

But Kranepool was a part of the 1969 Amazin' Mets and would hit a HR in Game 3 of the World Series off Baltimore Orioles reliever Dave Leonhard. The Mets would win the World Series in five games.

However, Kranepool would struggle in 1970 and would be sent down the minors after hitting .118. Fortunately, Kranepool would rebound in 1971 hitting .280 with 14 HR and a career high 58 RBI. Kranepool would return to the World Series in 1973, but the Mets would fall just short against the Oakland A's. Over time, Kranepool gradually saw more time as a pinch hitter and would excel in this role despite the team's declining fortunes until retiring after the 1979 season. 

In 18 seasons with the Mets, Kranepool played 1853 games which is still a team record. In a sense, Kranepool can truly be called Mr. Met. In those 1853 games Kranepool played in a Mets uniform, he collected 1,418 hits for a lifetime batting average of .261 with 118 HR and 614 RBIs. 

To give you an idea of how long Kranepool played with the Mets, he was part of the team with their first 8 managers - Casey Stengel, Wes Westrum, Salty Parker, Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Frazier and Joe Torre. Kranepool was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1990. 

I leave you with Kranepool's aforementioned HR in the 1969 World Series. R.I.P.