Edward Emil Kranepool III (November 8, 1944 – September 8, 2024) was an American professional baseball player. He spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets. He was predominantly a first baseman, but he also played in the outfield.

Born in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, New York, Kranepool attended James Monroe High School, where he began playing baseball and basketball. Mets' scout Bubber Jonnard signed Kranepool in 1962 at the age of 17 as an amateur free agent. By the time he retired in 1979, he had become the last remaining Met from their inaugural 1962 season and was a member of the Miracle Mets World Championship team of 1969.

After batting a combined .301 at three levels of the Mets' minor league system in 1962, Kranepool received a September call-up in just his first professional season. At age 17, Kranepool was six years younger than the next-youngest '62 Met, a reflection of the decision of Met management to select mostly older veterans in the expansion draft. He made his major league debut wearing number 21 on September 22, 1962, as a late inning defensive replacement for Gil Hodges at first base in a 9–2 loss to the Chicago Cubs at the Polo Grounds. He grounded out to Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs in his only at bat. He made his first start the next day, September 23, playing first base, and went one for four with a double.

Kranepool began the 1963 season splitting playing time with "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry at first base and Duke Snider in right field. By May 5, Throneberry's ineptitude at the plate (.143 batting average and only one run batted in during the first 23 games of the season) wore thin on Met fans and management, and he was demoted to the Mets' Triple A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons. Tim Harkness was awarded the first base job, with Snider shifting to left field and Kranepool becoming the Mets' everyday right fielder. This arrangement, however, did not last, as Kranepool was sent down to the minors in July with a .190 batting average. He resurfaced later that season as a September call-up, and went four for five with a run batted in and a run scored in his first game back. He continued to hit better following his late season call-up, and managed to bring his batting average up to .209 for the season.

With Harkness, Dick Smith, and Frank Thomas sharing first base, Kranepool received most of his playing time in right field at the start of the 1964 season. On May 24, Joe Christopher was batting .303 and had won a starting job in right field. He was awarded the right field job, and Kranepool was demoted to Buffalo with a .139 batting average.

Kranepool played just 15 games with the Bisons, hitting three home runs and batting .352 to earn a promotion back to the Mets. On his last day with the Bisons, Kranepool played all 18 innings of a double header, before getting the call to come to Shea Stadium where the Mets were playing two games the next day. On Sunday, May 31, he played first base in game one of the double header against the San Francisco Giants. Kranepool also played first in the second game of the double header, which went 23 innings. Kranepool ended up playing all 23 innings, going four for 14 over the two games. In all, he played 50 innings in two days. "I wish we could have played another 40 minutes", Kranepool was later quoted as saying of the record setting double header that lasted nearly 10 hours and ended at 11:20 PM. "That way, I could always say I played in a game that started in May and ended in June."

These two games were the start of a 13-game hitting streak that saw Kranepool's batting average rise to .264. For the season, Kranepool batted .257 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI.

Prior to the start of the 1965 season, the Mets acquired future Hall of fame pitcher Warren Spahn from the Milwaukee Braves. Kranepool gave up his number 21 to Spahn, who had worn that number his entire career, and began wearing his more familiar number 7.