Ed Kranepool, an original member of the New York Mets and longtime Jericho resident, died on Monday after suffering cardiac arrest in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 79.
“We are incredibly heartbroken to learn of Ed Kranepool’s passing,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “We cherished the time we spent with Ed during Old Timers’ Day and in the years since. Hearing Mets stories and history from Ed was an absolute joy. We extend our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.”
Kranepool was drafted by the Mets when he was 17 years old, signing a $80,000 bonus. He was a member of the “Miracle Mets.” Kranepool appeared in 1,853 games with the team, a record that still stands.
An All-Star in 1965, the left-handed-hitting first baseman was also a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets, who defeated the Baltimore Orioles to win their first-ever World Series title. While Kranepool only appeared in one game that series, he made it memorable, hitting a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 3 off Orioles reliever David Leonhard in New York’s 5-0 win.
Across his 18 seasons from 1962 to 1979 — featuring a National League pennant in 1973 — Kranepool’s 1,418 hits and 2,047 total bases rank third in Mets history, while his 614 RBI rank fifth. He was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 1990.
“I just spoke to Ed last week and we talked about how we were the last two originals who signed with the Mets,” his former teammate and outfielder, Cleon Jones, said. “The other 1962 guys came from other organizations. Eddie was a big bonus baby and I wasn’t. He never had an ego and was just one of the guys. He was a wonderful person.”
Kranepool lived on Long Island in Farmingdale and Jericho for over 20 years until he moved to Florida in 2022. He and fellow retired Met Ron Swoboda owned The Dugout, a Mets-themed restaurant in Amityville.
Todd Shapiro, the president of the Jericho Chamber of Commerce, said he was a longtime friend of Kranepool.
“Ed was a mentor and a personal friend and neighbor who was admired by the entire community,” he said in a statement.
“Local residents admired Ed for his work visiting with kids in little leagues across Long Island and for being an inspiring speaker to business groups large and small,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said he and Kranepool worked together often. The two organized a 50th anniversary reunion for the 1969 “Miracle Mets” on Long Island and in Connecticut.
The pair had planned to meet later this month before Kranepool’s unexpected passing.
“He’s been a major fixture in the Long Island community for over 50 years,” said Sean Acosta, vice president of the Jericho Chamber of Commerce.
Kranepool was an “inspiration for people in business, people in sport and people in the community,” Acosta said.
Kranepool was an active member in the community and would often come to support local baseball teams and Little Leagues, Acosta said.
“He’d always come with a smile,” he said.
Acosta said that Kranepool was a “true champion” both “on the field and off the field.”
“Many times, he would do a lot of events for the local businesses,” Acosta said. He said that Kranepool was always willing to help people, talk to Mats fans, sign autographs and take photos.
He “only cared about helping poeple,” Acosta said.
“As a player, he had one of the longest, if not the longest tenure in New Yori Mets history and never gave up on his team or his community,” Shapiro said.
Kranepool was a member of the Mets for 18 years, until he retired in 1979.
After his retirement, Kranepool developed diabetes.
In 2017, as his kidney’s failed, he found a donor for a transplant. The donor was Glenwood Landing resident and Mets fan Deborah Barbieri.
“He battled for so long and never complained about anything,” his former teammate Ron Swoboda said. “I thought once he got his kidney transplant, things would be great. He was a wonderful guy and an even better teammate… I can’t believe he is gone.”
Acosta’s business, Property Tax Reduction Consultants, plans on starting a scholarship in Kranepool’s name and hopes to memorialize him at the local baseball field, he said.
“From Manhasset to Montauk, Ed was as recognized for baseball as Billy Joel is for music,” Shapiro said.
Additional reporting was provided by Joe Paterno of amNY.
