Ed Kranepool

From The Met Wiki

Ed Kranepool was a first baseman and outfielder for the Mets from 1962 to 1979. He played in 1853 games and collected 2047 total bases during his 18-season career with the team. Kranepool had a .261 batting average and 118 home runs as a Met.

Kranepool appeared in three games for the Mets in the team’s inaugural ’62 season. He got his first major league hit with a double off the Cubs’ Don Elston in a 2-1 Mets win at the Polo Grounds on September 23. This was Ed’s only hit in six at-bats for the Mets during the year.

In 1963, Kranepool had 57 hits and 14 runs batted in over 86 games played. He got to bat 273 times on the season. On April 19, Ed hit his first major league home run of the Braves’ Bob Shaw in a 5-4 Mets’ victory at the Polo Grounds. He doubled in the ninth inning to drive in the winning run for a 3-2 Mets home win over the Phillies on May 8. Kranepool hit a game-winning homer in a 4-1 Mets triumph at Cincinnati on June 15. He also had three singles and three runs scored in the Mets’ 5-4 win at Cincinnati on September 6.

Kranepool hit .257 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 1964. He played 104 of his 119 games at first base and had 47 runs scored during the season. At Shea Stadium on June 5, Ed hit a three-run homer in an 8-0 Mets victory over the Dodgers. At Houston on July 1, he singled, doubled and tripled in the Mets’ 8-6 win over the Colt .45s. Kranepool homered twice in the Mets’ 6-4 loss to the Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader at Shea on August 14. He singled home the winning run in the tenth inning for a 2-1 Mets victory over the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea on August 23. Ed singled to drive in the only run of a 1-0 Mets win at St. Louis on October 2. One day later, he had a single, double, homer and four RBIs in the Mets’ 15-5 win over the Cardinals.

Ed was the Mets’ leader with 133 hits, 24 doubles and 4 triples in 1965. He was also a member of the National League team at the All-Star Game in Minnesota. At San Francisco on April 24, Kranepool hit two home runs in the Mets' 7-6 victory. His ninth-inning RBI single on May 9 gave the Mets a 5-4 win over the Braves at Shea. Ed had three singles and a double in the Mets’ 5-2 triumph at Chicago on May 31. He had a sacrifice fly and a double for three RBIs in an 8-6 Mets win at Pittsburgh on June 3. Against the Reds at Shea on June 30 and July 1, Kranepool drove in five runs with a double, two homers and a sacrifice fly in the Mets’ 6-3 and 5-1 victories.

In 1966, Kranepool led the Mets with146 games played during the season. He also had a team-high 16 home runs among his 118 hits. Ed homered twice to drive in all the Mets’ runs of a 5-4 loss at Atlanta on April 23. At Chicago three days later, he had a homer and a two-run single in the Mets’ 14-11 win. Ed hit two doubles for three RBIs in a 7-5 Mets victory at Philadelphia on July 6. He hit a three-run homer in a 14-3 Mets win on July 21 at San Francisco. On August 12 and August 13, Kranepool had a pair of three-hit games (including two home runs) as the Mets and Cardinals each came away with a win at St. Louis.

Kranepool had 175 total bases and a .269 batting average in 1967. He scored 37 runs and drove in 54 during the year. At Shea on May 2, Ed had a homer and a run-scoring triple in the Mets’ 3-2 victory in 12 innings over the Giants. He hit a three-run homer in a 5-3 Mets win over the Giants at Shea on July 3. At St. Louis on July 16, Kranepool hit a two-run homer for a 2-1 Mets win in the opener of a doubleheader. In the second game, he had a run-scoring single and another two-run homer as the Mets defeated the Cardinals again, 8-5. Ed also had four RBIs in the Mets’ doubleheader sweep of the Pirates at Shea (3-0 and 11-9) on August 13.

In 1968, Kranepool had 86 hits for 110 total bases. He scored 29 runs and drove in 20 for the season. On May 30, Ed singled three times and had two RBIs in the Mets’ 6-3 victory at Pittsburgh. He drove in the winning run with a double in a 4-2 Mets triumph over the Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia on July 7. Kranepool hit a home run in a 2-1 Mets win at Atlanta on July 23. He also homered in the Mets’ 7-1 victory on August 25 at Cincinnati.

Kranepool had 11 home runs among 84 hits in 1969. He drove in 49 runs over 112 games played during the Mets’ World Championship season. On April 29, Ed provided all the scoring with two homers for a 2-0 Mets win over the Montreal Expos in their first game ever in Canada. He homered twice again in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Dodgers at Shea on June 3. Kranepool got a run-scoring single in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 4-3 win over the Cubs on July 8 at Shea. He also had a run-scoring single and a homer to drive in both runs of a 2-0 Mets victory on September 18 at Montreal.

In the ’69 National League Championship Series, Kranepool had two singles and a double in the Mets’ three-game sweep of the Braves. He also hit a home run in Game 3 of the ’69 World Series as the Mets defeated the Orioles, 5-0.

After a forgettable 1970 season, Kranepool came back strong in 1971. He batted .280 and tied with Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee for the team lead in home runs with 14. Ed had four singles and two RBIs in the Mets’ 12-2 win at St. Louis on April 26. In a 9-1 Mets victory at St. Louis two days later, he singled twice and doubled to drive in three runs. Kranepool had two singles and a homer in a 4-0 Mets win over the Pirates at Shea on June 30. From August 20 to September 4, he batted .357 during an 11-game hitting streak. In the last game of this streak, Ed had a homer and an RBI single in a 3-0 Mets victory that completed a sweep of a doubleheader at Philadelphia.

Kranepool played in a team-leading 122 games for the Mets in 1972. He collected 88 hits for 129 total bases on the season. Ed had a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer in the Mets’ 4-0 victory in the season opener at Shea on April 15. At Shea on May 11, he hit a home run and turned a game-ending unassisted double play in a 2-1 Mets win over the Dodgers. Kranepool had two run-scoring singles and an RBI double in the Mets’ 8-3 win at St. Louis on August 9. He also had a homer and an RBI single in the Mets’ 5-0 victory over the Braves on August 15 at Shea.

In 1973, Kranepool was in the starting lineup 73 times in 100 game appearances. He drove in 35 runs and scored 28 times in the Mets’ pennant-winning season. In the second game of a doubleheader on April 22, Ed had a single, double, triple and four RBIs in a 13-3 Mets win over the Expos at Shea. He singled three times and drove in a run in the Mets’ 6-0 victory at Pittsburgh on May 12. Kranepool’s only home run of the year was a two-run blast off Juan Marichal that proved to be a game-winner for a 5-4 Mets triumph over the Giants on June 12 at Shea. He had a two-run triple in a 7-1 Mets win over the Phillies at Shea on September 4. Ed also hit a two-run single in the Mets’ 7-2 victory over the Reds in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Shea on October 10.

For the first time in his career, Kranepool had a .300 batting average in 1974. He had four homers and 24 RBIs in 94 games played during the season. On June 25, Ed had a single, a double and a three-run homer in a 5-1 Mets win at Chicago. He singled three times and drove in two runs in the Mets’ 8-5 victory over the Expos at Shea on July 27. Kranepool hit a game-tying three-run homer in an eventual 4-3 Mets win over the Pirates in a doubleheader nightcap at Shea on July 30. He also had two singles and two runs scored in the Mets’ 6-5 win over the Braves at Shea on August 31.

Kranepool hit .323 and had 20 extra-base hits in 1975. He had 133 total bases for the season. From May 16 to May 24, Ed had 11 hits and 5 RBIs over five consecutive games played. He homered in the Mets’ 6-3 victory over the Dodgers at Shea on May 26. Kranepool singled twice, doubled and drove in three runs in a 5-4 Mets win over the Braves on July 19 at Shea. He did exactly the same in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Reds at Shea on July 23.

In 1976, Ed collected 121 hits in 123 games. He hit 17 doubles and 10 home runs during the year. On April 17, Kranepool had a single, a homer and four RBIs in a 17-1 Mets win at Pittsburgh. He had a two-run homer in a 7-5 Mets victory in the first game of a twinbill at Cincinnati on May 16. At Shea on June 18, Ed hit a two-run homer to put the Mets ahead to stay for a 3-2 win over the Giants. He had a game-winning home run in the Mets' 9-8 victory over the Expos at Shea on August 3. also singled in the ninth inning to drive in the winning run for a 5-4 Mets triumph over the Expos on September 28 at Shea.

Ed hit .281 with 10 homers in 1977. He drove in 49 runs and had a team-leading 5 sacrifice flies. Kranepool had nine hits (including four doubles and two home runs) in his first five games played from Opening Day on April 7 to April 13. He doubled and homered in the Mets’ 8-1 victory over the Giants at Shea on May 17. Ed hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning in the Mets’ 5-2 triumph over the Braves in 11 on June 21 at Shea. He hit a game-tying single in the 11th inning in the Mets' eventual 8-7 win over the Dodgers in 12 at Shea on August 1. Kranepool also had a bases-loaded double that gave the Mets a 5-4 victory over the Cubs to open a doubleheader at Shea on September 17.

Kranepool had 17 hits (15 as a pinch-hitter) in 1978. He had three pinch-hit homers during the season. At Shea on April 8, Ed hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 Mets victory over the Expos. He hit a three-run homer in a 10-9 Mets loss at Chicago on June 26. Kranepool also hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to cap a Mets comeback for a 7-6 victory over the Expos on September 14 at Shea.

In 1979, Kranepool concluded his career with 82 games played. He had 36 hits for 47 total bases in his final major league season. Ed drove in three runs in a 7-5 Mets loss at San Francisco on May 3. He hit a two-run homer (his last) in a 3-2 Mets win over the Pirates in 15 innings at Shea on September 8. At St. Louis on September 30, Kranepool hit a double in his last major league at bat in the Mets’ 4-2 victory over the Cardinals.

Kranepool was inducted into the Mets’ Hall of Fame in 1990.