Ed Kranepool replaced a gigantic, if short-lived, legend. He did so when in May of 1963 he took over for the ever popular but always inept Marv Throneberry as the New York Mets' new hope at first base. Only a season earlier, Marvelous Marv Throneberry had built a quaint reputation for bungling that capsulized an entire opening Mets season. But what was tolerated as charming by giddy first-year fans wore out its welcome in short order when legitimate expectations of on-field progress soon set in. Early in the second Mets season, Marvelous Marv was demoted to Triple A Buffalo for good, and Kranepool got his initial chance.

Ed had been signed up straight out of high school as an 18-year-old bonus baby and saw little first-year action while a permanent bench rider: He got into only three games and rang up a single base hit. Even when he got a shot as a result of Throneberry's permanent banishment, his own status with the ball club was at first largely an up-and-down affair. Kranepool was himself demoted before the end of 1963 in a well-measured attempt to save his career. The youngster had started fast, then slumped with a .190 batting average in mid-July; he also showed distressing signs of becoming a problem child when he sulked in the clubhouse and refused to take batting tips from veteran teammates like Duke Snider. But the temporary demotion back to Buffalo worked its magic, and the big lefty was soon back in the New York lineup, with his major league act showing considerable renovation. Once back upon the scene, he would remain at Shea Stadium for what eventually proved to be the longest and most productive tenure in club history.

By the time he was ready to hang up his spikes, Ed Kranepool had constructed an oversized New York baseball legend all his own. But unlike Throneberry, Kranepool built his own Mets legend at a measured walking pace. His best single season would come down the road in 1971 when he put up career hitting numbers (.280 BA and 14 homers) and was the league's best defensive first sacker. There were other years when he paced the club in various categories, though the numbers were never very grand. The most remarkable feature of his career was his longevity. By the time he was done at the end of a second decade, he had walked away with a bigger piece of the Mets' record book than anyone before or since. Many small contributions had added up to a place atop numerous team career categories. Kranepool had earned his reputation step-by-step as "Steady Eddie" in the New York lineup. In fact, no Met, Yankee, Dodger, or Giant was ever any steadier for quite so long a haul.

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