Former All-Star and World Series champion Ed Kranepool passed away on Sunday, the Mets announced. Kranepool spent his entire 18-year MLB career with the franchise. He was 79 years old.
Kranepool debuted with the Mets at 17 years old in 1962, the club’s inaugural season. Over 18 seasons and 1,853 games, he helped them win their first two NL East titles, their first two NL pennants, and their first World Series title in 1969. He made the National League All-Star team in 1965.
The 6-foot-3 first baseman is perhaps best remembered for his home run in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series, but his significance to the organization goes well beyond one swing of the bat. Kranepool held the franchise record in hits from 1976 until 2011. As of today, he ranks second among all Mets players in career plate appearances, third in hits, fourth in doubles, and fifth in RBI. He also ranks among the top 10 in runs and walks. While thousands of players have suited up for the Mets over the past 63 seasons, no one has played more games for the franchise than Kranepool. Fittingly, he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990.
In addition to his longevity and long list of accomplishments, Kranepool will be remembered for his pinch-hitting and first base defense. In 1974, his 13th major league season, he appeared in more games as a pinch-hitter than at any other position. He went 17-for-35 (.486) as a substitute batter that year, setting a record for the highest single-season batting average by a pinch-hitter (min. 30 AB). His record still stands today (per Baseball Almanac). Moreover, although he played long before the days of advanced defensive metrics, Kranepool put up an impressive .994 fielding percentage over more than 10,000 innings at first base in his career. Longtime teammate Jerry Koosman described Kranepool as “the best first baseman [he] ever played with” in a statement relayed by the Mets.
Kranepool will also be remembered for the leadership role he continued to play long after he last took the field. As Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen wrote in a statement following his passing, “Ed continued to work tirelessly in the community on behalf of the organization after his playing career ended.”
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues, as well as the many fans mourning his passing.
Pride of the Bronx, I remember him fondly. Thanks for the memories. With you, Bud, and Jerry Grote all passing this year, God is building a nice infield.
I remember him on Everybody Loves Raymond, seemed like a great guy.
RIP Ed, thoughts and prayers to your loved ones.
Another smarmy comment from DodgerBruh. How edgy.. please educate us more on your statistical wisdom and self-righteous hypocritical views on trolling
thickiedon, What do you expect with a name like that lol
Thickiedon
Muted, troll
A rare player who only played for one team his entire career
Another player from my generation gone too soon
My condolences to his family
Back in the day it was much more common for ballclubs to have a one-club man or two. Ed Kranepool may have been from The Bronx but he’ll always be associated with the team that plays in Queens.
Mr. Met is in mourning, crying real tears.
RIP. Many don’t know that after getting a kidney transplant, he helped others including a friend of mine do the same. Thank you sir for being selfless and not just being grateful that you got yours. Ted is alive today because of you!
Kranepool had a solid career and even got to win a World Series
Shockingly he did not make Jim Bouton’s Ball Four…which is disappointing but clearly offset by winning and really helping the Mets win a World Series and playing your whole career with one team
@Lefty
I really don’t see the Ball Four connection. Bouton and Kranepool were never teammates. Bouton was a Yankee and Kranepool was a Met. Ball Four was about Bouton trying to make the Pilots, getting traded to Houston and full of clubhouse stuff from Bouton’s days with the Yankees.
Not necessarily
He talked about a lot of things
He talked about the Pilots playing the Orioles
He mentioned Casey Stengel
Some commentary on Pete Rose
Willie Mays
Willie McCovey
D!CK Allen
Pitching strategies
Wide Array of stuff…not just the teams he played for
I have many fond memories of Ed and the 69 Mets. I was 13 years old and had to go to catechism class after school while the game was being played but the nun who taught the class asked if we minded listening to the game instead. She became my favorite nun of all time. Rest in peace Ed and thanks for the memories.
5.9 career fWAR in 6000 career PA
Or .6 fWAR per 600 PA
He had 3 seasons that accounted for 93% of his career fWAR.
1971 – 2.1 fWAR
1975 – 1.7 fWAR
1976 – 1.7 fWAR
fWar is an overrated stat invented by some analytics freak who knows nothing about baseball…plus 90% of us fans out there have no idea on how to calculate this meaningless statistic, unlike a batting average, ERA and Whip. If it so meaningful then how come no one knows how it’s calculated…sounds like reaganomics…
Motown
LOL
“I don’t understand this thing so it must be meaningless”
Imagine if the world only contained things that you understood. There’d be, well, basically nothing.
You wouldn’t be reading this internet article for one. No lightbulbs in your house or electricity to run them. No house even. Etc…
“this meaningless statistic”
“team wins and WAR wins are strongly correlated (R-squared value of 0.86).”
beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/12/26/18155292/correlat…
WAR does an excellent job of modeling player performance. You just don’t understand it
NB4 you say you are old
It’s not old, its WISDOM, which is obviously something you wouldn’t understand because you’re just young and dumb
MiMT
“It’s not old, its WISDOM”
Naw
Refusing to accept something just because you lack the knowledge or the intellect to understand it isn’t wisdom.
Again.
The math is right there for you.
Whether you like it or not
Whether you understand it or not
WAR works
WAR. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
rc
“WAR. What is it good for? ”
Modeling player production in terms of runs and wins
Current models explain about 86% of a team’s wins. Sequencing explains a large chunk of the remaining 14%. Which means that there is very little that WAR doesn’t account for.
“team wins and WAR wins are strongly correlated (R-squared value of 0.86).”
beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/12/26/18155292/correlat…
You’re too stupid to realize that’s a song
GtV
1) I know it’s a song
2) Not knowing something is a matter of knowledge (it’s right there in the word – “KNOWledge”) not intelligence
3) “WAR” is a statistic. “War” is a military conflict. TC was definitely referencing the former
Thank, I guess, I mean it doesn’t matter at all, for liking nearly every one of my comments. Kinda stalkery, actually
Back on mute, troll.
Lololol how’s that mute working if you gotta respond … You’re goofy
@toycannon —Say it again!
That’s funny!
Edwin Starr was an Indians fan then he moved to the U.K.
Dodgers, what’s your point? On a tribute, why not talk about 6,000 at bats? How about talking about him extending his career by being a valued pinch hitter? Or as I mentioned yesterday, talk about how he worked to help others.
Dewey
You make an excellent point. There are a lot of things one can talk about
Have a great day
Admittedly I don’t know who Ed Kranepool is but may he rest in Paradise
Although it’s off topic. James Earl Jones also passed away today.
May have been one of the more popular early Mets players. Known as “steady Eddie”. Decent 1b, PH on WS and many not that good early met teams.
Oh no, just got done reading his interesting autobiography.
Shame he had such health issues later in life with diabetes and kidney issues.
May he rest in peace.
.
Another one of the childhood players passing on. RIP “Steady Eddie”
Those of us who grew up in the 70s will fondly remember both Ed Kranepool and James Earl Jones for their contributions to Major League Baseball and the greatest movie franchise, Star Wars. May both rest in peace.
He was the last active New York Met as late as 1979.
I have a mint condition PSA 9 Topps 1971 card of Ed. Sweet!
RIP Ed Kranepool.
He was the4 first Major Leaguer who was younger than I (by a few days)
I remember Ed being a Met for forever and a day. Another player from my youth gone too soon. We lost James Earl Jones today too. A sad day on both counts.
RIP Ed. Condolences to your family and friends.
RIP Ed!
RIP
RIP Ed…..
I was 12 when he was signed & he went directly to Shea from my high school James Monroe. I felt an affinity to him. I played a week for his coach Joe Consagra before I was cut. Sad when your local hero dies. RIP Steady Eddie
An original Met. I was bummed when his career ended. I wanted him to play forever just because he was with the ’62 team.
Would have liked that Ed lived to see the White Sox break their 1962 season losing record, a record I never thought I’d see. RIP BIG Ed!
I was a little too young to remember him as a player, but he did some Miller Lite ads, no?
I think that was marvelous Marv Throneberry, a teammate of Ed’s
Not too many guys left from the’68 & ‘69 WS championship teams….. 🙁
RIP Ed. Thanks for the memories. Condolences to the Kranepool family, and all of Ed’s friends and loved ones.
He played before my time, so I’d not seen him (I was born in 76), but I remember meeting him at an autograph signing with Art Shamsky and Ron Swoboda when I was a kid. I was in awe, meeting real living Mets! And Ed was super kind and encouraging. It was the first time I met real big-leaguers and I’ll never forget it.
Now I can finally leave my condolences, prayers and my many memories of the man who was my favorite Met and baseball player growing up as a kid. I was five years old when the Mets began playing baseball in 1962. I would sit with my dad and watch the Mets games on television. I took to Ed Kranepool as my favorite player. He was a true lefty and so was I. I finally met my idol as an eight year old when he came to my school for a charity basketball game, and he autographed my first baseman’s glove. Over my 66 years I’ve met him several times and he was always as gracious as he was when I was that excited kid in school. There’s a saying that goes something like “don’t meet your idols because you’ll be disappointed “, but I can honestly say that never was. Rest in Peace Steady Eddie.