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Edward Emil Kranepool
New York Mets
First Base
Born: November 8, 1944, New York, NY
Signed: Signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent, June 27, 1962
Major League Teams: New York Mets 1962-1979
Ed Kranepool played in 18 major league seasons, and his complete list of career transactions from his Baseball Reference page is extremely impressive:
At the end of his career, Kranepool had amassed 1,853 games with the Mets, still tops in franchise history. He was a member of the original expansion Mets in 1962 at the age of 17, an All-Star in 1965, a World Series winner with the Miracle Mets in 1969 and a top pinch-hitter for the club during the latter part of his career between 1974 and 1979.
Primarily a first baseman, Kranepool's best season came in 1971 when he drove in a career high 58 runs and hit .280 with 14 home runs. He owned a lifetime batting average of .261 with 118 career home runs. Kranepool was the original all-time hits leader for the Mets with 1,418, but he's since been surpassed by David Wright (1,777) and Jose Reyes (1,491). He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990.
January 25, 2020 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #48
Some January days are longer than others, and on a particularly long January day at work a few months ago, I decided I needed a few more 1965 Topps cards for our set. I've been familiar with Greg Morris Cards for a while now, as I've been using a lot of the images of old Topps cards scanned for their eBay auction listings in these posts and within the posts over at my 1956 Topps blog. The images are always centered and clear and for all the help Greg Morris has indirectly provided me, I thought I'd browse his eBay store.
The Card
Kranepool's rookie card can be found in the 1963 Topps set on a floating heads Rookie Stars card. This is his second solo card in a Topps flagship set, and the third card in an impressive run of 18 appearances in Topps flagships sets through 1980. The back of the card references Kranepool's high school basketball and baseball accomplishments, noting that he attended the same high school as Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg. That school was James Monroe High School, located in the Bronx. Kranepool, at card #6, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of five Indians in the set. He's also in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set.
Mets Team Set
1965 Season
This was Kranepool's sole All-Star season, as he was selected to the mid-season classic as the only representative from the Mets. As the team's every day first baseman, Kranepool hit .253 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs, with his RBI tally second on the team behind Charley Smith (#22) and his 62 RBIs. Kranepool endured a late season slump following his All-Star Game selection and hit only 3 second half home runs while batting .216.
Prior to the season, the Mets added Warren Spahn (#205) as a pitcher-coach and Kranepool handed over his #21 to the veteran pitcher, switching to #7. He'd wear that number until he retired following the 1979 season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1963 Topps #228
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1963-1980
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2013 Panini Golden Age #78
148 - Kranepool non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/10/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
Prior Card: #143 Pirates Rookie Stars
Next Card: #145 Luis Tiant - Cleveland Indians
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