NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The baseball world is mourning the loss of Hall of Fame pitcher, three-time Cy Young Award winner and 12-time All-Star, Tom Seaver, who died this week at the age of 75.
He was of course synonymous with the New York Mets and their unforgettable 1969 season, when he steered the team to a stunning World Series title.
"This is a sad day in Metsville," Seaver's Miracle Mets teammate, Ed Kranepool, told WCBS 880 on Wednesday. "I lost a good friend and teammate, no question about it."
Seaver is regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history and Kranepool said he was a star from the day he arrived on the team.
"If anyone could play behind Tom Seaver, it was an easy ball game. He was a class act from the day he joined the ball club in 1965-66. We were all about the same age at the time, but he brought on the field that shining star," Kranepool said. "We were very fortunate to acquire Tom, in a mishap I guess, from the Atlanta Braves, but he was the number one player, the marquee player, 'The Franchise' and you can't replace a Tom Seaver in your organization."
Kranepool played alongside Seaver for 11 years, before "Tom Terrific" was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1977.
"I played behind him many, many games and you never knew what to expect from Tom Seaver. That brilliance was always there," Kranepool said. "I was there when he struck out 10 men in a row against San Diego, pitched us to the World Series in 1969 with 25 victories, he led us again in 73."
In all their years together, Kranepool said there was only one time in his career that he didn't want to see Seaver pitch.
"That was in the sixth game of '73 World Series when he was short rested," Kranepool said. "I thought we could've saved him for the seventh but other than that you always wanted to go to war with Tom Seaver because he was a great competitor, a great athlete and he went about his job very classy and professional and he was an easy guy to play behind."
The 75-year-old Kranepool said the game came easy to Seaver and very rarely did he let the team down.
"I mean every time he pitched we knew as an organization we were going to be competitive and we had a chance to win the ball game," Kranepool said. "He was just a great guy on and off the field... This is a sad day."
Seaver, who retired from public life last March, died peacefully at his California home Monday from complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19.
The Mets great pitched 20 years in the majors, which also included stints with the Reds, Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. His 3,640 career strikeouts ranks sixth all time in MLB history.