Ed Kranepool is much more than a Mets treasure. He is an American treasure.
His life embodies the characteristics we strive for in this world. He is loyal, his entire 18-year career that covered 1,853 games and produced 1,418 hits was with the Mets. He has lived the American Dream, a New York icon with the hometown team, and then becoming a successful stockbroker.
And this all began in the most difficult of circumstances anyone can imagine.
“I never knew my dad,’’ Kranepool told BallNine. “My mother was pregnant with me, she was about six months pregnant. My sister was three years older so she knew my dad. But I never had the opportunity.
“My dad was in the Army, he got machine-gunned down,’’ Kranepool said of 31-year-old Sgt. Edward Kranepool.
That happened on July 28, 1944 in the fighting at Saint-Lo, France.
His mother persevered.
“It’s touchy, but I never had any feelings for my dad because I never knew him,’’ Kranepool said. “My mother took good care of me. She became my mother and my father. It was tougher on her. I didn’t know any different. But that’s why I try to be as good as I can to all the kids and grandkids. Be around as much as you can, this way they have some remembrances of you.’’
Words straight from the heart. There are three kids and seven grandchildren.
“It keeps us young,’’ Kranepool said of he and his wife, Monica. “It keeps you moving around. It’s a lot of fun.’’
Growing up in the Bronx, baseball and sports were his life.
His neighbor and Little League coach Jim Schiaffo was there to help. “My friend Jimmy was like a stepfather to me even though he wasn’t,’’ Kranepool said. “He took me under his wing. He had two boys of his own and we all played on the same Little League team. He was my first coach. He was behind me. He gave me the guidance and the leadership that I needed growing up because you need a father image, otherwise you can go astray. Your mother can only be so strong.’’
Young Ed, a left-handed hitter, found his own inner strength.
“I was so involved in sports and lived next to a playground in the Bronx,’’ Kranepool said. “I always ran from my house after breakfast over to the playground, whether it be stickball, basketball, football, depending on the season. My whole life was the playground and then I started playing Little League when I was 10. I played three years of Little League then after that sandlot baseball and I always played up because I was a little better than most kids and then the Mets started following me.’’
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I was blessed to be an invitee to the tryout when the Mets were formed.
ReplyDeleteKranepool and a pitcher named Rick Herscher were signed.
There also was a catcher out of John Adams HS who's name escapes me.
Great article and perspectives on the Krane. I would have loved to ask Eddie how his career might have gone differently if he worked out like Alonso did. He always looked like a stockbroker in a Mets' uniform. But he was a fine, fine pinch hitter for many years, and it is remarkable that he was a full time major leaguer by age 19. Very few have done that.
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