5 sometimes forgotten members of both 1969 and 1973 Mets World Series squads

3) Ed Kranepool

Ed Kranepool, in retrospect, never got the respect he deserved. From the start, he was never truly given a chance at a full-time role….the Mets always had someone else to take the first base job from him. The Mets went out and got Donn Clendenon in 1969, which proved to be the right move. And once Clendenon retired, along came The Hammer, John Milner.

At least with the right handed hitting Clendenon, Kranepool could expect to platoon…or at least hope for it. With Milner and his left handed power, Krane was not really needed. Maybe as a backup corner outfielder, although he was a bit too slow, or perhaps as a left handed pinch hitter. Wait…Boswell was a left handed pinch hitter. But they were both there as a part of Hodges’ left handed platoon in ’69 and Berra’s left handed bench in ’73. Just not enough playing time (even with all of the injuries during that season) to go around.

In 112 games in 1969 as part of that Hodges platoon, Kranepool hit .238 with 11 HR and 49 RBI…combining with Clendenon to be a very potent duo at first base. Then in 1973, while still seeing action in 100 games, his average was around the same, hitting .239, but he only had 1 HR and 35 RBI.