STEPPING TO THE PLATE FOR ED
Reader offers kidney to ailing Met icon
NEARLY A half-century ago, New York Mets legend Ed Kranepool popped into a Long Island summer camp and signed a happy kid’s baseball glove.
That youngster, now 55, hopes to repay the ailing ex-first baseman’s kindness with a kidney. Amazin’, ain’t it? “I remember him for what he did for me back then,” said the potential organ donor, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity. “He spent time with me. He gave me a hat.”
The Daily News reader saw the story in Thursday’s paper (photo) about the 73-year-old Kranepool’s need for an organ transplant as he struggles with a diabetes-related kidney problem.
“I know I need a transplant,” Kranepool told The News in an exclusive interview. “I’m not going to expire tomorrow, but my family is worried because age is a factor.”
Kranepool’s story resonated with the would-be donor, who thought back on their long-ago meeting at Camp Bowman.
“I saw the article — wow,” said the man. “It brought me back. I was just a little kid at camp, and he came over and signed my glove.
“That’s where this comes from.”
The man declined to be identified beyond his age, insisting he sought no accolades for his altruistic offer.
“I don’t want be in the Daily News,” he said. “This is not something I’m looking to get attention for. I’m just looking to do it and move on.”
Kranepool, like the potential organ donor, is a local guy: Born in Bronx, a graduate of James Monroe High School, signed by the Mets at age 17.
He joined the team at the tail end of their debut season in 1962 under manager Casey Stengel.
By the time Kranepool made it out to Camp Bowman in 1971, he owned a World Series ring with the rest of the 1969 Miracle Mets world champions.
He even drilled a homer in Game 3 against the Orioles as the Mets won in five.
Kranepool spent 18 years with the Mets, retiring after the 1979 season. He remains the team’s all-time leader in games played.
He told The News that he was only recently cleared for transplant eligibility after fighting off an infection that led to the amputation of his toes.
Additional delays followed after friends of Kranepool volunteered as donors, only to drop off the list with medical problems of their own.
“So we’re kind of starting all over again,” said Kranepool.
Though retired a long time, the homegrown hero holds a special place in the hearts of many Mets fans — even 38 years after hanging up his spikes.
“The story is now Ed Kranepool is in need,” said the man who hopes to donate his kidney. “I’m 55 years old, and I thought, ‘If I could look out for him, I should.’”
The donor contacted officials at Stony Brook University Hospital, where Kranepool hopes to have the transplant, and arranged for a test to determine if his kidney was a match.
“If I’m a match, I’ll go all the way — 100%,” said The News reader. “I would want someone to do this for me. Why wouldn’t I do it for somebody else?”