Ed Kranepool loved the Mets until the very end.
The longest-tenured player in franchise history, Kranepool was watching a Mets game at his home in Boca Raton, Fla., when he died on Sept. 8 at age 79.
It was perhaps poetic, considering Kranepool, a hero on 1969’s World Series-winning Miracle Mets, had dedicated his entire baseball life to the organization.
“When Shea [Stadium] was being torn down, I had felt like part of my youth was taken from me,” said Art Shamsky, who played four years with Kranepool, including that magical 1969 season.
“And when I heard the news about Eddie Kranepool, more of my youth was taken from me.”
On Friday, the Mets kicked off a season-long celebration of Kranepool’s life with an on-field tribute before their home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets invited Shamsky and 17 of Kranepool’s family members to the game to help pay homage.
That tribute preceded an “in memoriam” video in which the Mets paid respect to members of the sports community who died within the last year, including former St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca; Tom Seaver’s daughter, Sarah Seaver; and Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner.
The Mets are set to honor Kranepool all season with a patch featuring his No. 7 on their jersey sleeves.
“It’s unfortunate that he’s no longer with us, but to have his family here means a lot to all of us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s an honor. To have those guys and the families around here is important for all of us.”
A Bronx native who attended the borough’s James Monroe High School, Kranepool debuted with the Mets as a 17-year-old in 1962 and played each of his 18 MLB seasons with them.
He remains the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 1,853, while his 1,418 hits rank third in team history.
The fan-favorite first baseman/outfielder never put up gaudy statistics, but his home run in Game 3 of the ’69 World Series helped punctuate a victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets would go on to win that World Series — the first in franchise history — in five games.
“When he was rounding the bases, I thought to myself, ‘Here’s a guy whose life is going full circle.’ He’s been with those horrible Met teams in ‘62, ‘63, ‘64 and ‘65, losing 100 games every year,” Shamsky said Friday.
“He hits a home run in Game 3 of the World Series and all of a sudden, a couple of days later, we win the World Series and all of our lives changed.”
Shamsky, 83, and Kranepool remained close in the decades that followed. The former teammates had lunch together in Florida four days before Kranepool died of cardiac arrest.
“We shared so many great moments,” Shamsky said. “We were on ‘Sesame Street’ together, Vegas singing for two weeks, ‘Everybody Loves Raymond.’”
Kranepool was one of several members of that 1969 team who died last year, along with Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote and Jim McAndrew. The Mets wore Harrelson’s No. 3 on their jerseys throughout last season.
