Description

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No origin story of the New York Mets is complete without Ed Kranepool.

The lefty first baseman known as "Steady Eddie" made his major-league debut at age 17 during the team's inaugural season and would eventually depart, nearly two decades later, with his name written throughout the franchise's record books.

In this definitive autobiography, Kranepool shares a remarkable life story, including early years playing stickball in the streets of the Bronx, the growing pains the Mets endured as an expansion club, his offseasons working as a New York stockbroker, and of course the miracle 1969 season that ended in an unforgettable World Series victory.

He also opens up about the personal miracle which came 50 years after that famous championship: a lifesaving kidney transplant made possible by a Mets fan donor. A month after the surgery, Kranepool threw out the first pitch at Citi Field and boldly offered his services as a pinch hitter. 

Affable, open, and brimming with knowledge of the game, this thoroughly New York tale will delight baseball fans in Queens and beyond.

About the Author

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Ed Kranepool made his major-league debut with the New York Mets at age 17 and would go on to spend his entire professional baseball career with the franchise, winning a World Series title as part of the 1969 "miracle" Mets. He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990.

Gary Kaschak has served as sports writer and columnist for The Vestal News (upper New York state), The Green Bay Press Gazette (Wisconsin), and The Burlington County Times (New Jersey). He served The Montrose Independent (Pennsylvania) as its Sports Editor and has also reported for WKOP radio in Binghampton, New York.