League Baseball. Though still relatively young at that time, he was only useful as long as his pinch-hits kept dropping in. He had also reportedly had some friction with the team's ownership group, led by Lorinda DeRoulet who was controlling the team after the death of her mother, Joan Payson. When the team was sold after the 1979 season to a group headed by Nelson Doubleday Jr. and Fred Wilpon, Kranepool was part of one of the groups offering a losing bid. Kranepool had a career fielding percentages of .994 as a first baseman and .975 as an outfielder. Overall, he finished with a .993 fielding percentage. Commercials and television appearances A 1978 television commercial for Gillette Foamy shaving cream began with black-and-white film footage of Kranepool striking out, and an announcer saying, "From 1962 to 1970, Ed Kranepool batted .227. Then Ed switched to Gillette Foamy." The ad showed Kranepool in front of a mirror, lathering up and shaving, and switched to color footage of him hitting a ball down the right-field line. The announcer said, "Since 1971, Ed's batted .283! What do you think of that, Ed?" As baseball players had long had a reputation for being superstitious, the ad closed with Kranepool standing in the dugout, in uniform but lathered up and holding up a can of Foamy, saying, "I don't know, but now I shave every other inning." The closing narration was, "Foamy: More than thick and rich enough for New York's heavy hitters." Another Gillette commercial featured Kranepool lighting a candle in his bathroom and trying to shave using Foamy during a blackout. The ad was clearly inspired by the New York blackout of the previous season, which came during a Mets home game at Shea Stadium on July 13, 1977. Kranepool also appeared in an ad for SportsPhone with Jerry Koosman. He caught flak for a campaign commercial he did for New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato in which he appeared wearing a New York Mets uniform. Following protest from the Mets' ownership group, the commercial was quickly pulled. Kranepool also appeared on Saturday Night Live in a cameo appearance, being interviewed by Bill Murray during a skit filmed during spring training in , regarding Chico Escuela's (portrayed by Garrett Morris) tell all book, Bad Stuff 'bout The Mets (a parody of Sparky Lyle's tell all book about the New York Yankees, The Bronx Zoo).