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Ed Kranepool: Mets Team Hall of Famer- Part Two (The Seventies & Retirement)

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Ed Kranepool Part Two-After the Championship:   After the Championship of 1969, Ed held out for a pay raise & just at the start of Spring Training 1970 got a $12,000 increase. Mets Player Rep: By the seventies the outspoken Eddie Kranepool was chosen as the Mets Players Representative in those early days of the Players Association / Players union.  Quotes- Ed Kranepool: "I wasn't afraid to protect the players & attend the meetings & the associations. And the Players themselves, that doesn't always bode you well for you, sometimes when're speaking on behalf of the group, owners can take it as bone of contention. I wasn't afraid of getting traded nor was I afraid of speaking out against others' interests." It was also no secret that Kranepool & Gil Hodges would butt heads at times. In Spring Training 1970 the Mets had a young kid named Mike Jorgensen, as well as veteran Art Shamsky competing for the first base job....
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Ed Kranepool: New York Mets Team Hall of Famer- Part One (The Sixties)

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Edward Emil Kranepool was born in the Castle Hill / Soundview section of the Bronx, New York on November 8, 1944. Ed lived on Castle Hill Ave between Hermany Ave &Turnbull Ave. Family: His father was killed in France during World War II leaving behind his wife Ethel Kranepool who was six months pregnant with Ed. Ethel raised Ed & his older sister working odd jobs & making ends meet on a military widow's pension.  A neighbor Jim Schiaffo, who was a little league coach became the closest thing he had to a father. He would practice & teach baseball to the young Eddie.  Quotes- Ed Kranepool: " I played every day of my life some kind of sport, preferably baseball or basketball. We played stickball in those days in the street, I used to beat the big kids. In little league I led the league in hitting three years in a row. I hit .700 every year." Ed started out as a pitcher but turned outfielder & first baseman after he broke his arm when...
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