Where Are They Now?

[foulpole]

As far as I know, Ed Kranepool lives quietly in a gated community in Jericho, NY, just off the Long Island Expressway. My guess is that he's retired, but I may be mistaken on that.

I met Ed about a year and a half ago in my store and he was working for a company that did credit card processing. He came in with some friends who were buying some merchandise, and while I helped his friends, he struck up a conversation with my mother and then 5 year old daughter, who had both just popped in to say hello. Then my mom asks me "Do you recognize this guy?". Ed looked embarassed for a second, but as soon as I said "Ed Kranepool" he smiled and looked more at ease.

After making their purchase, they all stuck around for a while and we had a very nice conversation. Ed got a big kick out of my daughter- when he asked who her favorite Mets were, she replied, in order: David Wright, Mr. Met, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Del-Beltran. When they left, he gave me his card and even gave me a follow-up call to try get my business. Really nice guy.

[milladrive]

I met Ed about a year and a half ago in my store and he was working for a company that did credit card processing. He came in with some friends who were buying some merchandise, and while I helped his friends, he struck up a conversation with my mother and then 5 year old daughter, who had both just popped in to say hello. Then my mom asks me "Do you recognize this guy?". Ed looked embarassed for a second, but as soon as I said "Ed Kranepool" he smiled and looked more at ease.

After making their purchase, they all stuck around for a while and we had a very nice conversation. Ed got a big kick out of my daughter- when he asked who her favorite Mets were, she replied, in order: David Wright, Mr. Met, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Del-Beltran. When they left, he gave me his card and even gave me a follow-up call to try get my business. Really nice guy.

Carlos Del-Beltran... lol, that's priceless!

I think it's great that not only did your mom and daughter have a fun conversation with Steady Eddie, but just as super that he followed up with a phone call. Guess he's not entirely retired after all.

As long as my brain is on the topic, does anyone have any info on what Don Hahn is doing these days?

[VIBaseball]

Don Hahn

After the Mets traded him to Philadelphia in the deal that also involved Tug McGraw and John Stearns, Hahn played for the Phillies, Padres, and Cardinals in 1975. That was his last season in the majors, but he played two more (1976-77) for San Francisco's Triple-A club, Phoenix.

Don then went into the real estate business in the San José area. He and his wife Kathy had four children. Son Dustin was a 9th-round pick of the Rockies in 2004 and played three years in their chain, rising to the high Class A level. He then played 10 games in the independent Golden League in 2007.

[drdg]

here's a good one (LOL):clowning:
where is ? wait for it

SIDD FINCH

the greatest mets pitching prospect of all times
I read that he could throw a fastball 168 miles per hours
:joking:

and play a French horn

[VIBaseball]

Internet evidence is entirely absent, because Sidd is totally off the grid. However, rumors persist that he is back in Tibet, pursuing higher-level yogic mastery of mind-body. The breath control techniques aid him immesurably in playing the French horn.

[Cowtipper]

I was just going through some old cards and found a couple Mets from the nineties...Rich Becker and Blaine Beatty. Whatever happened to those guys?

[VIBaseball]

Rich Becker

I'd forgotten that when the Mets gave up on Alex "Five-Tool" Ochoa, they got Becker even-up from the Twins. He was coming off two pretty good seasons with the Twins but the Mets waived him in June 1998 after 49 unproductive games. He played through 2000 in the majors with the Orioles, Brewers, A's and Tigers. He then spent 2001 with the Triple-A clubs of Detroit and Florida, then finished up in 2002 with Fargo-Moorhead of the independent Northern League.

According to this December 2011 article (http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/136384248.html), he became a fireman in North Fort Myers, Florida. He lives in nearby Cape Coral with his wife and three children.

[VIBaseball]

Blaine Beatty

Beatty's major-league career consisted of seven games with the Mets in 1989 and 1991 (he was out with an elbow injury in 1990). However, he remained a pro through 1997 in the Montreal, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati chains.

Interesting to note that the Mets obtained Beatty in 1987 from Baltimore, when they traded away Doug Sisk. They sent him to Montreal for Jeff Barry, of whom I have no memory (he got into 15 games with the Mets in 1995).

Beatty has been a minor-league pitching coach since 1999. The 2012 season was his sixth with the Frederick Keys, a Class A club in the Orioles system.

This is a nice 2008 article about Beatty, his travels in the pros (including those short stints with the Mets), his wife Mia, and son, who's also named Blaine.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_lifestyle.htm?StoryID=77380

[Joe Rigatoni]

VI Baseball,How about the guy who is the answer to my favorite Mets trivia question of all time.
Mike Howard,He got the game winning hit on Mets Opening Day 1983 and that was the last major league game he ever played in.Please tell us what he's doing these days.I really appreciate it.

[VIBaseball]

Mike Howard

This article sums it up as well as you could want, Joe:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/18034/remember-when-we-met-mike-howard

[Joe Rigatoni]

VI Baseball,As a tribute to Stan Musial and Earl Weaver please tell us the following.Ed Bauta is the last Met pitcher to face
Stan Musial in his career.Bauta is still alive and actually struck out Stan The Man in his last at bat against the Mets in his
career.And Al Weis is the Met who hit the home run against the Orioles in the last game that Earl Weaver managed against
the Mets that counted that tied the score 3-3 in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series.The Mets would eventually win that game
5-3 and win the World Series after that game.I know that Weis does a lot of appearances with the 1969 Mets but I would
like to know what he's doing when he's not making those appearances.So please tell us what Ed Bauta and Al Weis are doing these days.I really appreciate it.

[VIBaseball]

Ed Bauta

I had no idea until Joe asked about him that this Cuban hurler kept on pitching for many years after his big-league career ended in 1964.
He was with the Mets organization as late as 1968, when he had a nice year (11-6, 2.16) as a reliver and spot starter for Double-A Visalia.
The rest of the guys on that staff were aged 18 to 22. I wouldn't be surprised if he doubled as pitching coach.

Bauta was in the U.S. as late as 1972 and 1973, pitching for the Phillies' Triple-A club, which was then in Eugene, Oregon.

Mainly, though, he pitched in Mexico from 1969 through 1974. Overall, he was 64-55 with a 2.55 ERA in 209 games (112 starts).
In 1973, he was terrific: 23-5, 2.25 in 32 games, completing 23 of his 30 starts.

Ed, who turned 78 earlier this month, has been living in the Daytona Beach area.
I haven't been able to find anything else, but it looks like he responds readily to autograph requests.
Perhaps someday he will be a SABR BioProject subject.

[VIBaseball]

Al Weis

As of this 2009 article, Weis was retired from his job with a furniture company and living in the Chicago suburbs. He is there still, in the town of Elmhurst.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-infielder-al-weis-spirit-69-article-1.398556

This reporter, Anthony McCarron of the Daily News, has done quite a few good "Where Are They Now?" articles.

Al (Franklin Square) and his wife Barbara (Massapequa) are both Long Islanders.

[VIBaseball]

Pat Zachry

The SABR BioProject has just posted this bio of Zachry, one of the four guys the Mets received in the Tom Seaver trade with Cincinnati. Fans of The Dark Years will remember him well.

Zachry lives where he grew up, in Waco, Texas.

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c237966a

[Joe Rigatoni]

VI Baseball,I noticed there was a recent trivia question with the answer being Willie Montanez.I got a good Willie Montanez
story.On Sunday August 12,1979 after the Expos and Mets got rained out at Shea that day Montanez was traded to the
Rangers.Coincidentally,the next night the Rangers were playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.A friend of mine,the same
friend who tried to get Roy Staiger to subscribe to Newsday when we were kids and is also a mutual friend of milladrive's
had this conversation with me about the Montanez trade.After the trade we pictured the conversation between Montanez
and the Mets general manager at the time Joe McDonald in which this was his last year as Mets general manager before
being replaced by Frank Cashen to go something like this when Montanez was informed about the trade.
MCDONALD:Willie,You've been traded to the Rangers.
MONTANEZ:I had a feeling I might be traded.Well,that's baseball.Ok,where's my plane fare?
MCDONALD:Plane fare? What plane fare? Here's your subway token.(In reference to Montanez being traded to the Rangers
after the Expos and Mets got rained out at Shea and the Rangers playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium the next night)
So a few years ago Montanez did an autograph signing in New Jersey and I thought it would be a great idea to get a
8x10 photo signed for my friend and have him write To Mike,Thanks for the subway token.Willie Montanez.So when I asked
Montanez to write that he gave me a funny look so I told him the story and he started laughing and he wrote it for me and
he added his #25 to his autograph as well.I also got a 8x10 photo signed by Montanez for myself and he wrote the same thing for me as well.The friend that I was giving this to doesn't get impressed or get too excited about things too easily and
he's not even into autographs.But when I gave my friend this 8x10 photo signed by Montanez with that inscription he got a
big kick out of it.He really liked it.So VI Baseball,when he's not doing autograph signings could you please tell us what Willie
Montanez is doing these days.I really appreciate it.