play 100 games and make 320 plate appearances backing up Milner at first and Cleon Jones in left. The Mets won the NL East, and faced the Cincinnati Reds in the 1973 National League Championship Series. Kranepool's only appearance in the NLCS was in game five, and he drove in the first two runs of the Mets' series clinching victory to lead his team to the 1973 World Series. Joan Payson's death Kranepool batted .300 in consecutive seasons in and , sharing first base duties with Milner and Dave Kingman. When Mets owner Joan Payson died on October 4, 1975, she left the team to her husband Charles. While Joan had been the driving force behind the Mets, her survivors did not share her enthusiasm. Charles delegated his authority to his three daughters, who left control of baseball matters to club chairman M. Donald Grant. According to an interview with Kranepool, he was the only Met player invited to Mrs. Payson's funeral. The Mets enjoyed the second best winning percentage in franchise history in when they went 86–76 to finish third in the NL East. Kranepool was again a regular first baseman with the Mets that season, batting .292 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs. He compiled his best offensive years from 1974 through 1977, hitting .299 in 431 games with 28 home runs and 156 runs batted in. Pinch-hitter Popular centerfielder Lee Mazzilli became the face of the organization. Kranepool, perhaps as a symbol of the Mets' past glory, emerged as a fan favorite as well, despite his relegation to a limited pinch hitting role at that point in his career. From through , Kranepool hit .396 as a pinch hitter, batting .486 (17-for-35) in the role in 1974, still the major league single-season pinch hit batting average record. After the Mets traded Jerry Koosman at the end of the 1978 season, Kranepool became the last of the 1969 Miracle Mets. When he retired after the season at the age of 34, he was the all-time Mets leader in eight offensive categories (since surpassed). Through the 2019 season, he still holds the mark of most games played with the Mets at 1,853 and became an enduring legend among Mets fans for having played 18 seasons. He was the last of the 1962 Mets to remain with the team, and the last of that team to retire from Major