Thursday, December 17, 2009

Countdown To Christmas - Day 7

We have arrived. The entire reason for this blog. No other days matter. Sure, some might mention Mickey Mantle. Others might throw in Al Simmons, or maybe Craig Biggio or Pudge Rodriguez. But none can hold a candle to our marquee player for today's countdown.

Casey Stengel one day referred to the rookies Ed Kranepool and Greg Goossen in 1964 , and Stengel observed, "See that fellow [Gossen] over there? He's 20 years old. In ten years he has a chance to be a star. Now, that fellow over there [Kranepool], he's 20, too. In ten years he has a chance to be 30."

Edward Emill Kranepool wore number 7. 'Nuf said. OK, seriously. Ed Kranepool truly was a great ball player and a great guy (I will expand on this qualitative statement later). Steady Eddie, or Big Ed, played in all or part of 18 seasons with the New York Mets. Kranepool was signed out of high school as a "bonus baby" at the age of 17. While playing off and on for the Mets between 1962 and 1964, he was called up "for good" (he did have another stint in the minors) in 1965 and changed his number to the infamous number 7. That was the first of many breakout years for Kranepool, as he was selected to the NL All Star team. By 1969, Kranepool was one of the leaders of the team and helped lead the Metropolitans to a World Series title. Kranepool even had a home run in that fall classic. After spending part of the 1970 season in the minors, Kranepool bounced back in 1971 to hit 14 home runs and lead the league with a .998 fielding percentage. Late in his career, he was relegated to platooning at first base, then later as a feared pinch hitter. In fact, his .486 as a pinch hitter in 1974 still stands as a single season major league record! Kranepool retired at the end of the 1978 season, and at the time of his retirement, he held eight team records, of which he still holds four. Kranepool is the team leader in at bats, hits, doubles, and stolen bases. He also played more games for the Mets than any other player, and was the last player from the original 1962 Mets to retire.
Kranepool became a personal favorite of mine in the mid to late 1970s. During spring training in 1977, his wife needed to go the hospital. My mother was her nurse, and she called me at home asking if I had heard of him because under employer, Kranepool wrote "New York Mets." He gave an autographed baseball to my mother for me, and also passed along a batting tip (to open up my stance) that helped a struggling little leaguer with a bad eye (literally and figuratively). When Kranepool returned to NY, he sent me a personalized autographed 8x10 glossy photo from his home address. The next spring, my buddy Dave and I attended the Mets-Dodgers game at Al Lang Stadium. We made posters and brought baseballs, and Ed graciously signed both. Later, in high school, we formed the Ed Kranepool Fan Club, and my buddy Jim and I would type up newsletters during typing class!

Another number 7 with nearly as much fame as Kranepool was Mickey Mantle. Mantle played 18 seasons with the Yankees, and played on seven World Championship teams. He holds the record for most World Series homeruns (18), was a three time AL MVP winner, a 20 time All Star, and won the Triple Crown in 1956. Mantle replaced the legendary Joe DiMaggio as their full time centerfielder in 1952. Mantle's career was hampered by injuries, primarily to his knees. He retired in 1985 with 536 HRs and 1,509 RBI. His number 7 has been retired by the Yankees, and Mantle was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.

1 comment:

  1. i smell pulitzer. awesome gregory. i got teary reading about that game we went to in hi school. great memories. HERE'S TO BIG ED!!!!!!!! dg

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