Ed Kranepool: ’69 Mets & More
Rob and Tim Leonard talk with Ed Kranepool, a member of the 1969 World Series Winning New York Mets, and a member of the Mets for 18 seasons. He is the author of ‘The Last Miracle: My 18-Year Journey with the Amazin’ New York Mets.’
From Amazon: No origin story of the New York Mets is complete without Ed Kranepool.
The lefty first baseman known as “Steady Eddie” made his major-league debut at age 17 during the team’s inaugural season and would eventually depart, nearly two decades later, with his name written throughout the franchise’s record books.
In this definitive autobiography, Kranepool shares a remarkable life story, including early years playing stickball in the streets of the Bronx, the growing pains the Mets endured as an expansion club, his offseasons working as a New York stockbroker, and of course the miracle 1969 season that ended in an unforgettable World Series victory.
He also opens up about the personal miracle which came 50 years after that famous championship: a lifesaving kidney transplant made possible by a Mets fan donor. A month after the surgery, Kranepool threw out the first pitch at Citi Field and boldly offered his services as a pinch hitter.