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Post by inger on Jun 24, 2024 21:24:31 GMT -5
I always liked, “See that kid over there? He’s only 20 years old. In ten years he has a chance to be 30.” I think Kranepool was the kid… Kranepool did a bit better than that, of course. I'm sure you know he was the Mets' first home-grown hitting...well, star is pehaps a bit much. He was the Mets' team all-time leader in many hitting caegories into the 80's and 90's, until first Darryl Strawberry and then David Wright made the team, and compiled their stats. He (Kranepool) actually had a pretty impressive career, accepting platoons, role play, and pinch hitting along the way. I admire him for being wise enough to find the niches to fit into… |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jun 25, 2024 12:53:05 GMT -5
Kranepool did a bit better than that, of course. I'm sure you know he was the Mets' first home-grown hitting...well, star is pehaps a bit much. He was the Mets' team all-time leader in many hitting caegories into the 80's and 90's, until first Darryl Strawberry and then David Wright made the team, and compiled their stats. He (Kranepool) actually had a pretty impressive career, accepting platoons, role play, and pinch hitting along the way. I admire him for being wise enough to find the niches to fit into… Agreed. The fact that he played in the majors before he turned 18, even for just 3 games, is an imprssive accomplishment by itself. Playing more than half the season at age 18 is also impressive. Yes, he struggled, but he was hardly the only one to do so on those very early Mets teams. That he managed to last 18 seasons in the major is also impressive. He even kept quiet after Don Clendenon basically took first base away from him down the stretch in 1969. He kept quiet as he was limited to just one game because McNally and Cuellar started 4 of the 5 games for the Orioles, while Clendenon hit 3 HRs and knocked in 5 runs and won the Series MVP Award. It was OK; he had been there to see 40-120 in 1962, staying with the team just by being there, doing whatever job the Mets game him, and was rewarded with a title and a ring, all by the age of 24. |
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