Ed Kranepool: Mets Team Hall of Famer- Part Two (The Seventies & Retirement)

Ed Kranepool Part Two-After the Championship: After the Championship of 1969, Ed held out for a pay raise & just at the start of Spring Training 1970 got a $12,000 increase.

Mets Player Rep: By the seventies the outspoken Eddie Kranepool was chosen as the Mets Players Representative in those early days of the Players Association / Players union. 

Quotes- Ed Kranepool: "I wasn't afraid to protect the players & attend the meetings & the associations. And the Players themselves, that doesn't always bode you well for you, sometimes when're speaking on behalf of the group, owners can take it as bone of contention. I wasn't afraid of getting traded nor was I afraid of speaking out against others' interests."

It was also no secret that Kranepool & Gil Hodges would butt heads at times. In Spring Training 1970 the Mets had a young kid named Mike Jorgensen, as well as veteran Art Shamsky competing for the first base job.

There were rumors of Kranepool being traded to Atlanta for native New Yorker Joe Torre, but nothing came of it. There was also mention of a trade with the Phillies for Dick (Ritchie) Allen at one point that season, but again nothing came of it. 

The Mets Owner Mrs. Joan Payson favored Kranepool ever since he was a teenager & he was liked by Mets GM, M. Donald Grant.

As the 1970 got underway, Kranepool struggled mightily, he hit just .118 in 26 games & on June 23rd when he was briefly put on waivers then sent down to AAA Tidewater. 

Eddie was devastated, he even considered retiring at his young age of 26.  But he worked hard batting .310 with 7 HRs & 45 RBIs in 47 games played at AAA Tidewater. 

He was back with the Mets by August mostly seeing action as a pinch hitter the rest of the year. He hit just .170 (8-470 playing in only 43 games.

1971: At Spring Training, he felt manager Gil Hodges still doubted him & he knew the media still was saying he was washed up. But Eddie was humbler after being demoted & felt he had nothing to lose. If not the Mets someone other team may take notice of what he had to offer, so he went out having one of his best seasons.

On April 26th, he had a four-hit day with two RBIs in a 12-2 win at St. Louis. The next day he collected three more hits & drove in another three runs in a 9-1 win over the Cards as well. Thru his first 12 games he was batting .400.

 

Team Drama: In May, Kranepool refused to throw ground balls between innings to rookie Tim Foli, after Foli had thrown a ball in the dirt in front of Kranepool. The quick-tempered Foli & Kranepool wound up getting into a fighting match in the dugout.

That month Eddie hit four HRs with seven doubles & batted .292. Eventually he & Gil Hodges earned a new respect for each other as Ed had one of his best seasons, redefining his career. 

At the end of May into June he hit safely in 20 of 24 games, with a thirteen-game hit streak in the middle of it all. He stayed over the .300 mark thru the month of June.

On June 24th in Montreal, he singled off the Expos Bill Stoneman tying up a pitcher's duel between Stoneman & Tom Seaver. Seaver helped his own cause by hitting a HR for the 2-1 win.

Kranepool closed out the month with HRs in back-to-back Mets shut outs by Seaver & Nolan Ryan/ Danny Frisella.

Kranepool wasn't even on the All-Star ballot because he wasn't expected to be a starter that season, although he did not make the team, he came close as a write in candidate. The Mets were ten games out of first at the All-Star break with high hopes for the second half.

In the final week of August into September he had an eleven-game hit streak, with 15 hits, five extra base hits, two HRs & driving in ten runs. 

In a September 4th Labor Day doubleheader Sweep at Philadelphia, he played both in games with a two run HR in the night cap 3-0 Mets win, as Jim McAndrew & Danny Frisella combined on the shut out. 

Kranepool helped the Mets stay in the pennant race in September hitting four HRs with eleven RBIs & six multiple hit games. They ended up finishing tied for third place 83-79 14 games out. 

Kranepool finished the year hitting a career best (up to that point) .280. He also had career highs in RBIs (58) runs scored (61) triples (4) & OPS (.786). He tied Cleon Jones for the team lead with 14 HRs & hit 20 doubles. 

Defensively he led the National League with a .998 fielding % at first base.

1972 & the Death of Gil Hodges: Everything changed in the Mets organization after Gil Hodges suddenly passed away due to a fatal heart attack at the end of hat years Spring Training. The team leadership was gone & the atmosphere was different. 

Quotes- Ed Kranepool: "Yogi Berra was “Yogi was a great guy, fun-loving well-liked by the players. Very easy going, but not the leadership of Gil Hodges. The inmates can’t run the asylum”.  If he would've continued & not passed away, we would have won more pennants".

That season the Mets also parted ways with Donn Clendenon giving Kranepool all the playing time at first base to start the year.

Opening Day HR: On an emotional, rainy Opening Day, when the Mets honored Gil Hodges,
Kranepool hit a two-run 8th inning HR off Pittsburgh’s Doc Ellis, leading the Mets & Tom Seaver to a 4-0 shutout.

On May 11th he hit a solo HR off the Dodgers Bill Singer in the first game of double header, helping in the 2-1 Met win. 

But in mid-July he was only batting .200 & began to see less playing time with a young slugging John Milner coming up, as well as veteran Jim Beauchamp on the club.

In the final two weeks of August, he hit three HRs driving in eight runs but showed no power in September. 

In 1972 Eddie played in 122 games hitting .269 with 8 HRs 15 doubles 34 RBIs, while posting a .336 on base % & .731 OPS. At first base he had a .996 fielding % (second in the NL), making only three errors in 108 games.

1973 Mets NL Pennant Season: This season he suffered injuries as most of the Met regular players. The Mets young slugger John Milner was struggling in the outfield & was better playing first base.

Eddie once again did what he had to do to remain in the lineup. He began to play more outfield & started excelling in his successful career as a pinch hitter. 

On April 22nd, he collected three hits with a triple & a double while driving in four runs against the Houston Astros in a wild 13-3 Mets win at Shea Stadium. 

In the first two weeks of May he had 11 hits raising his average up above .300. He also drove in runs in six of nine games. On June 12th he hit a 6th inning two run HR off Hall of Famer Juan Marichal to lead the Mets to a 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. 

On June 24th he hit a pair of doubles, driving in three runs off the Pirates Bob Moose leading Tom Seaver & the Mets to a 5-3 win at Three Rivers Stadium.

You Gotta Believe: It was during a late July team meeting given by prim & proper Mets General Manager M. Donald, when Tug McGraw yelled out “You Gotta Believe” as the rally cry was born.

As the team's player Rep. Kranepool told McGraw he should clear the air so as Grant wouldn’t think he was being mocked.

 Of course, the stuffy GM felt that he was being poked fun at, but all was fine as the Mets began to win. They began to make noise in their incredible September stretch run to chase the pennant. 

On August 31st, in the second game of a double header in St. Louis, Kranepool singled in the 6th inning to tie the game. In the top of the 10th, he singled home another run in the Mets three run inning, leading to a 6-3 win. 

In the week of August 28th to September 4th he only had four hits but drew eight walks, scoring six runs & driving in six more runs as the Mets began to win. 

On September 1st, the Mets were 63-71 in fourth place but just 4.5 games back in the standings. They went on to win the Eastern Division, the NLCS & went to the World Series. In the Mets September pennant run he drove in just two runs & was limited to a pinch-hitting role in the final two weeks of the season.

 In the Mets 1973 pennant season Kranepool batted .239 with one HR, 12 doubles a .310 on base % & 35 RBIs playing in 100 games (284 at bats).

1973 Post Season: 
NLCS: In the 1973 NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds, Kranepool did not appear until the deciding Game #5. 

That day he got the start in left field, as Cleon Jones moved over to right replacing the injured Rusty Staub. Staub had to sit down after injuring his shoulder crashing into the wall in Game #4.

In the home 1st inning, Kranepool came to bat with the bases loaded facing the Reds twenty game winner, Jack Billingham. Eddie delivered with a single to left field, driving in Felix Millan & Cleon Jones. The Shea fans went wild as New York took a 2-0 lead. They were feeling a second trip to the World Series in the last five years. The Reds tied the game up, but the Mets had a four-run 5th inning, with Tom Seaver shutting out the Reds the rest of the way & Tug McGraw getting the final two outs, the Mets won the pennant.

1973 World Series: In the 1973 World Series against the Oakland A's, Kranepool played in four games, getting three at bats as a pinch hitter and going hitless.

In Game #1 he came to bat as a pinch hitter in the top of the 9th inning, leading off with the Mets down 2-1. Eddie lined out to short stop for the first out. The Mets lost the game 2-1.

In the 6th inning of Game #2, he was announced as a pinch hitter, but A's manager Dick Williams changed pitchers bringing in Darold Knowles. Mets skipper Yogi Berra did not send Kranepool to bat replacing him with Jim Beachamp, who's fielder's choice scored Jerry Grote.

The Mets took a 6-3 lead but gave it up in the 9th inning. The game went a record four hours, thirteen minutes at that time & the Mets won it 10-7 in 12 innings.

Kranepool did not get any playing time in the three games in New York. 

In Game #6 in Oakland, he came in a s a pinch hitter in the 9th inning, once again facing Rollie Fingers, popping up for the last out of the game in the 3-1 Mets loss.

In Game #7 with two on & two outs, Kranepool came in again as a pinch hitter facing Fingers. He reached on an error at first base scoring John Milner & closing the gap to a 5-2 lead. 

Darold Knowles came on & got Wayne Garrett to pop up to end the game. The Amazing Mets season, fell one game short of another miracle, as the A's won their second straight World Series.

Post Season Stats: In the 1973 post season he went 1-5 with two RBIs playing in five games. Overall, in his post season career Ed played in nine games batting .238 (5-21) with a HR a double 4 RBIs a walk, three runs scored with a .273 on base % .701 OPS.

After the Pennant & One of MLB's Top Pinch Hitter: From 1974- 1979 Kranepool would come off the bench to chants of “Ed-die, Ed-die” and usually answered with a base hit. In his career Eddie went 63 - 181 in pinch hit at bats, good for a .358 average. 

1974: The NL Champion Mets could not maintain their success as they fell to 71-91 for a fifth-place finish.

1000th Career Hit: On May 12th in a 4-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Ed reached a career milestone collecting the 100th hit of his career. In the 1st inning he singled then drew a walk in his next at bat. In the top of the 8th, he grounded a single up the middle into center field off pitcher Steve Stone for his 100th hit.

NL Pinch Hit Leader: This season Kranepool batted an incredible .486 as a pinch hitter and led the league with 17 pinch hits going 17-35 in that role. It is the highest batting average of any hitter to have more than 30 pinch hit at bats in a season.

In the first two weeks of June, he went 3-in a pinch-hitting role & collected hit in both starts he made. By the end of June after 33 games he played in, he was batting .356 with a .422 on base% & .882 OPS. 

On June 8th, he came to bat as a pinch hitter in the top of the 12th inning in a 4-4 tie at Houston. He reached on an error & John Milner crossed the plate to put the Mets ahead. 

The Astros tied it but the Mets went on to a 14th inning win. On June 25th at Wrigley Field, he collected three hits in a game he started at first base, hitting a HR while driving in three runs in a 5-1 Mets win over the Cubs. 

The next day he played another complete game having three more hits, contributing another RBI in a one run Mets win. 

Pinch Hit HR& Big Series in St. Louis: On July 25th, he hit a pinch-hit HR in the second game of a double header in St. Louis. The next day his two run, 1st inning single off Lynn McGlothen led the offense for Tom Seaver in his 3-0 shut out. In the final game of the series, Kranepool drove in two more runs in the 8-5 Mets win.

On July 30th, he got another start in the second game of a Shea doubleheader with the Pirates. His 6th inning three-run shot off Bruce Kison led the Mets past the Pirates 4-3. From July 25th to August 1st, he hit three HRs with eight runs batted in. 

He saw more playing time in August, hitting safely in 15 of 18 games going into September keeping his average up over .313. In another game against the Cardinals, he drove in two more runs. That season he batted .440 with 11 hits vs the Cardinals with a HR & five RBIs.

Overall, for the year he was the only Met to bat .300 as he hit an even .300 playing in 94 games. He had 65 hits in 217 at bats with 4 HRs 11 doubles 24 RBIs & a .765 OPS. He posted a career high (up to that point) .350 on base %. 

1975: Eddie had a great start to the season, after starting out with an Opening Day pinch hit; he would become the clubs main first baseman. The under rated first baseman would lead the league in fielding that year (.997 %) making just two errors in 82 games. 

A good start in April had him batting .333. From May16th to May 24th he hit safely in five straight games, collecting 11 hits with five RBIs in that stretch, raising his average to .350. At the end of May had another stretch where he drove in runs in three straight games. 

In early June he peaked with a .412 batting average. On June 4th he had three hits against the Astros at Shea Stadium & drove in the only run of a Jerry Koosman 1-0 win. 

In mid-June he was still batting .371 with 20 RBIs having as good a season as anyone on the Mets roster.

In a mid-July home stand, he had two games in which he drove in three runs, leading the Mets to wins in both games. On July 19th he had a three-hit game, driving in three runs in the Mets 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.

On an August 11th night game against the San Diego Padres, he drove in a run early on, then hit a three run HR scoring Rusty Staub & Joe Torre leading the team to an 8-4 win. 

In the last game of the season, he had a 1st inning RBI helping the cause for Tom Seaver to win his 22nd game, in his third Cy Young Award season.

Kranepool finished the year leading the team, batting a career best .323, he also had career highs in on base % (.370) & OPS (.779). He played in 106 games with 4 HRs 16 doubles & 43 RBIs. 

Death in the Family: That same year the Mets owner Mrs. Joan Payson passed away. He was the only player to attend the funeral & the loss him hard. From that point on he had a bad relationship with management, especially President, Joe McDonald.

1976 Bicentennial year: Once again he was the Mets main first baseman this season. At first base he was third in the league with a .996 fielding %. 

In April he drove in eight runs ending the moth batting .257. He would drive in six runs in the first seven games of May & briefly get to the .300 mark.

On June 18th, his 6th inning two run HR off the Giants Rob Dressler led Tom Seaver & the Mets to a 3-2 win at Shea. 

At the end of the month a three-game road trip to Chicago had him gather eight hits, with a HR & five RBIs getting him over the .300 mark once again.

On July 1st, he drove in three runs in the Mets 13-0 shutout over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium.

On August 3rd at Shea Stadium, he brought the Mets ahead with an 8th inning two run HR off the Expos Joe Kerrigan leading to a 9-8 Met win. 

Walk off Hit: On September 28th, Eddie came to bat in the 8th inning with the Mets down 4-3 to the Expos. He led off with a game tying HR off Steve Dunning. In the 9th inning, he came to bat with the bases loaded & two outs facing Joe Kerrigan. Krane delivered a single to rightfield bringing home Bruce Boisclair with the games walk off winning run.

He closed out the year with a good September batting .333 driving in 12 runs, with 25 hits & a .849 OPS. He raised his average ten plus points as well. In his final ten games he hit three HRs while driving in seven runs.

For the season he batted .292 collecting 121 hits with 10 HRs 17 doubles 49 RBIs with a .344 on base % & a .754 OPS in 415 at bats. As a pinch hitter he batted .263 with four RBIs.

The Mets had a good season 86-76 but finished third in the NL East, it was their last winning season until 1984.

1977: As the Mets franchise fell apart, when they dismantled their players from their championship years, Kranepool was the last to go. Although much of the blame is given to M. Donald Grant, Kranepool says Joe McDonald played a big part in the bad trades of that era as well. 

Quotes- Ed Kranepool: "I didn't have a good relationship with Joe, I didn't respect him, I didn't like him. He didn't know anything about baseball, there were termites who ate away at the organization he was part of the termites."

That year the Mets new manager was Joe Torre.

NL's Top Pinch Hitter: Steady Eddie was one of the few Mets bright points in this dismal year. He led the league in pinch hits and was one of the game’s premier pinch hitters. He batted .361 with 13 hits, a HR four doubles & 14 RBIs in a non-starting role. He now had the fans chanting “Eddie Eddie” when he came out of the dugout. 
1977 would be Kranepool's final year as a regular player. 

On Opening Day, he drove in a run in the Mets 4-2 win at Wrigley Field in what was Tom Seaver's final opening day win before being traded. Seaver would return for another Opening Day win in 1983.

 In the third game of the year Eddie hit two HRs at Wrigley, driving in the only two Mets runs in the 5-2 loss. From May 15th to May 28th, he batted .418 with three HRs five doubles 11 RBIS while driving in runs in seven of nine games.

On May 28th his double at Riverfront Stadium off the Reds Dale Murray tied up the game where New York went on to win it 5-4. In late June he hit three HRs in a week as a bright spot in a sad summer, a few days after Tom Seaver was traded. 

On August 23rd in a game against the Houston Astros at Shea, Eddie pinch hit for Jerry Grote in the 8th inning with the Mets down 1-0. He doubled to score Steve Henderson with the tying run. 

The Mets won it the next inning on a Lenny Randle single off New York's own Joe Sambito. In September he drove in ten runs playing in just 17 games. 

On September 17th in a bottom of the 9th inning pinch hit appearance, Kranepool reached on an error as the winning run crossed the plate for a walk off win. 

For the 1977 season Krane batted .281 overall playing in 108 games with 10 HRs 17 doubles & 40 RBIs. He posted a .330 on base % & a .778 OPS.

1978: Ed Kranepool was just 34 years old but in his 17th season & was considered the old man of the Mets.

Walk Off HR: On April 8th, in his first at bat of the 1978 season, he hit a two-run walk off HR against Stan Bahnsen of the Montreal Expos giving the Mets a 6-5 win. 

In April he would have two more pinch hits, driving in another run.

In June he had five pinch hits, including a three run HR at Wrigley Field in Chicago in a wild 10-9 Met loss. He had four successful pinch hits to enter July, scoring the go-ahead run-in Pittsburgh, in a four run Mets 9th inning on June 30th.

In September he went three for eight as a pinch hitter, On September 14th he came to bat in the 6th inning with the Mets behind 4-3. He blasted a three-run pinch hit HR off Randy Miller of the Montreal Expos leading New York to a 6-4 win. 

In the last game of the season, he had an RBI pinch hit single to end his season batting .210 with 3 HRs 19 RBIs & eight walks in 81 at bats.

1979: Kranepool gave the idea that it was his final year. The eighteen-year veteran was just 35 years old, but he & the Mets management were feuding. 

Krane & Joe Torre:  Ed Kranepool & Joe Torre had been traveling roommates, together on the Mets when Torre was a player. The two were just four years apart in age. Kranepool felt he had been Torre's right-hand man for the three seasons he was the Mets manager. 

But he felt his manager did not stand up for him, giving him less playing time & not speaking up for him. It hurt Kranepool & he claims he never spoke to Torre again. Torre has he said letting Kranepool go was one of the toughest things he ever had to do.

That year Eddie saw even less playing time, 82 games and didn’t hit above .200 until August.

 That month he then drove in runs in five of his first six games. In a start in the second game of a double header on August 10th against the Expos he had four hits, driving in two runs.

In September he hit his last career HR on September 8th, coming off Bert Blyleven at Shea
Stadium, against the eventual World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

 He went three for eight as pinch hitter that month and in the final game of the season Kranepool doubled with a 7th inning pinch hit. It was his final career at bat.

Final Home Stand: During the final home stand of the year, the Mets honored the great Cardinals base stealer Lou Brock. Unfortunately, they did not even acknowledge that Kranepool was most likely in his last days as a Mets player. Thee had no honors for him or made any mention of his final series.

Final Pinch Hit: On the last day of the regular season, he came to bat in the 7th inning & doubled off the Cards Bob Forsch for his 90th career pinch hit.

Pinch Hit Career: In his career Eddie batted .396 as a pinch hitter with 90 hits 16 doubles a triple 6 HRs & 55 RBIs. He also drew 36 walks & was hit by a pitch.

For 1979 he batted .232 with 2 HRs & 17 RBIs. That off season he received a message in the mail of his release & he was granted free agency.

All Time Mets Leader: Kranepool is the all-time Mets leader in games played (1853) & years of service in a Met uniform (18). He is the Mets all time pinch hits leader as well.

Ed is third to David Wright & Jose Reyes in at bats (5436) hits (5436) singles (1050). He is second in Mets sac flies (58) & total bases (2407).

Kranepool is fourth in doubles (225) & intentional walks (89). He is fifth in RBIs (614) eighth in walks (454) ninth in runs scored (536) tenth in triples (25) & thirteenth in HRs (118).

At first base he played in 1304 games (91st most of all time) posting a .994% (63rd all time) 1137 puts outs & 779 assists (93rd all time).  

Retirement: After baseball Kranepool made a living as a stockbroker, restaurateur and currently runs a credit card payment company.

At one point he ran a sports memorabilia company specializing in authenticity for former players & their families who wanted to sell game used memorabilia. 

At another point he worked for seven years at Pfizer, promoting diabetes awareness, something he suffers from.

Most recently his offices are located in Westbury, Long Island. 

Honors: Kranepool was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990. 

He was a frequent visitor to Shea Stadium and was on hand for the closing ceremonies of the ballpark in 2008.

In 2009 he was on hand at Citi field for the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Championship team & returned in 2019 for the 50th Anniversary. Kranepool was also on hand for the 2022 Mets Old Timers Day.

He has thrown out ceremonial first pitches many times in his career. He has spoken at many Mets & baseball functions as well as area Little League ceremonies.

Almost A Mets Owner: After trouble with the team's ownership group, led by Lorinda DeRoulet after the death of her mother, Joan Payson as a player, he tried to buy them out in Retirement.

As the team was being sold after the 1979 season, Kranepool was part of one of the groups bidding to buy the club. Instead, the winners were a group headed by Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon.

Family: Ed & his first wife Carole divorced in the late 1970's. Together they had one son.

Ed is a proud long-time resident of Long Island where he has lived since the 1970s. 

Ed married his second wife Monica in 1981. She is a Sotheby's real estate agent in East Norwich. She had two children at the time. Now the Kranepool's have grandchildren & spend their time between Long Island & Florida. 

He is still one of the Mets most recognized & popular Mets players of all time.

Health Issues: Ed has been a diabetic since his playing days, he also suffers from high blood
pressure. In 2015 he had two toes amputated & had the other three removed in 2022. 

In May 2019 he received a much-needed kidney transplant, with the successful surgery done at Stony Brook U Hospital. 

He had been searching for a donor for two years & had his kidneys functioning at just about 12%.

Quotes- Ed Kranepool: "Life is much more positive, I don't have constant worry on my mind. I feel good & mentally I'm good."

Book: In 2023 Kranepool finally released his book-The Last Miracle: My 18 Year Journey with the Amazing Mets, reflecting on his long baseball career.

That season he also ripped into the 2023 team after they disappointed after coming into the year with such high expectations. He cited their lack of effort &appearing to just go through the motions.

Passing: On September 9th, 2024, Kranepool passed away after suffering cardiac arrest in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 79 years old.