Derek Jeter broke the all-time hits record for the Yankees when he collected his 2,722nd hit in the third inning of Friday night's game against the Orioles. In honor of his great achievement, Studious Metsimus would like to congratulate Ed Kranepool for being the all-time hits leader for the Mets. (You didn't think we were going to talk about the Yankees here, did you? After all, this is a METS site.)Ed Kranepool spent his entire career playing for the New York Mets. After being signed out of James Monroe HS in the Bronx in 1962, Kranepool spent no time at all getting to the majors, notching six at-bats for the original 1962 Mets. Steady Eddie went on to play all or parts of 18 seasons in Flushing. His tenure with the Mets is the longest for any player in franchise history, followed by the 15 years spent by John Franco in blue and orange.
In his time with the Mets, the first baseman collected a franchise-record 1,418 hits. 225 of those hits were doubles, which also ranks as #1 in Mets history.
Derek Jeter might have gotten lots of clutch hits in the postseason for the Yankees, but he's had plenty more chances to do so. Kranepool only appeared in the playoffs twice. He hit a home run in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series (a game won by the Mets) and delivered a two-run single in the first inning of Game 5 of the 1973 NLCS. That hit got the Mets started on their way to winning the pennant in that deciding fifth game.
A member of the 1965 All-Star team, Kranepool celebrated the silver anniversary of that All-Star selection by being inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1990.
Let's hear it for the all-time hits leader - Ed Kranepool. He will always be a Studious Metsimus favorite, not just for his dubious record, but because he's a fellow Ed from the Bronx!
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