John Delach

Bob Sylvester was a gossip columnist for many years with the Daily News including when I was growing up. From time to time, he would write that day’s column about changes in our lives and the things that surround us that he titled: “You know that you are getting old when you remember when airliners had propellers…etc, etc.”

My personal introduction to this concept came in 1962 when I was only eighteen-years-old. That February, I turned eighteen, then the legal age allowing me to enter a bar and grill and have a beer, or two or three. Back then, the cost for a glass of beer at a typical bar in Ridgewood, Queens was 15 cents and the bar tender bought back every fourth beer.  All I needed was proof of age. At that time in my life, a driver’s license was only a dream, but the Selective Service gladly accommodated this need by issuing me a draft card.

All was well until September 22, 1962 when a seventeen-year-old-wunderkind baseball player made his debut appearance with the New York Mets after making his way through three levels of the Mets minor league system with a combined baseball average of .301.

Edward Emil Kranepool III was born on November 8, 1944 in the Bronx. Kranepool attended James Monroe High School where he played baseball and basketball. Mets’ scout, Bubber Jonnard signed Kranepool in 1962 as an amateur free agent.

He made his major league debut on September 22^nd as a late inning defensive replacement for Gil Hodges at first base. He made his first start the next day playing first base and going one for four with a double.

More importantly, Kranepool was the first major league player who I knew of who was younger than me. OMG, you know you are getting old when newbie players arrive at the big show who are younger than you.

Kranepool had an up and down career with the Mets making several trips to the Mets triple A top ranked minor league clubs only to be called back up to the big show , the Major League Mets. Originally, he wore number 21 whenever he was back playing at Shea Stadium, but in 1965, the Mets acquired future Hall of Fame pitcher, the aging Warren Spahn from the Milwaukee Braves. Kranepool gave up his number 21 to Spahn and began wearing number 7 for the rest of his career.

He was a strong part of the 1969 Miracle Mets and contributed to an 11-game winning streak in late June that put the team in second place in their division, seven games behind the Chicago Cubs.

“On July 8, Kranpool hit a fifth-inning home run off Fergunson Jenkins to give the Mets a 1-0 lead over the Cubs. By the time the Mets batted in the ninth inning, however, the first place Cubs had taken a 3-1 lead. The Mets scored three runs in the ninth to win the game, with Cleon Jones scoring on Kranpool’s single to center.

“The Mets completed their remarkable ‘Miracle’ 1969 season, in which the team backed by Kranepool, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, won their first World Series title against the Baltimore Orioles. Kranepool hit a home run in game three of the series, a 5-0 win for the Mets.”

1970 was an off season for Kranepool who was only batting .118 by June when he was demoted to the Mets then triple A affiliate, the Norfolk, VA based Tidewater Tides where he batted .310 in 47 games. He bounced back in 1971 when he batted .280 with 14 home runs and 58 RBIs.

By 1974, this fan favorite’s role had been reduced to that of a pinch hitter. However, he made the most of his opportunities and from 1974 until 1978, he hit .396. After the Mets traded Jerry Koosman at the end of 1978, Kranepool became the last of the 1969 Miracle Mets.

He retired after the 1979 season at age 34, the all-time Mets leader in eight offensive categories. He still holds the mark of most games played with the Mets at 1,853.

In retirement, he became a lasting hero to the Mets-centric Long Island community making an endless number of appearances at many functions. In 1990 he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. He did develop diabetes soon after retirement and by 2017, both his kidneys were failing. His fame came to his aide and in 2019, he received a new kidney from a living donor at Stony Brook University Hospital extending his life to 2024. Kranepool died in Boca Raton, FL on September 8, 2024.

The Mets announced shortly before the 2025 baseball season started that they would honor the late Ed Kranepool by wearing a uniform patch featuring his iconic Number 7 on the sleeves of all Mets jerseys.

“Of all the stats and records Ed accomplished throughout his career, the thing he was most proud of was that he spent his entire Major League career in a Mets uniform.” Fellow 1969 Miracle Met, Art Shamsky said in a statement. “Ed would be touched that the team will be wearing his number seven on that uniform all year long.”