Ed Kranepool, the longest-tenured New York Met who played a pivotal role on the 1969 World Series champions, died Sunday after suffering from cardiac arrest. He was 79 years old.

Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen released a statement upon news of his death.

"We are incredibly heartbroken to learn of Ed Kranepool's passing. He was an original Met, who debuted at age 17 in 1962. After starring at James Monroe High School in the Bronx, he would go on to play for his hometown team for the next 18 years, the longest tenured player in franchise history, appearing in 1,853 games with the Mets. Ed hit a home run in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series to help the Miracle Mets capture the title.

"He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1990. Ed continued to work tirelessly in the community on behalf of the organization after his playing career ended. We cherished the time we spent with Ed during Old Timers' Day and in the years since. Hearing Mets stories and history from Ed was an absolute joy. We extend our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends."

Numerous ex-Mets made comments upon news of his death. Of note, Ron Swoboda called Kranepool "a wonderful guy and even better teammate." Cleon Jones said Kranepool "never had an ego and was just one of the guys" despite getting a big bonus to play for the team, adding that he "was a wonderful person."

Kranepool played first base for the 1969 Mets, which certainly didn't enter the season with World Series expectations. Debuting in 1962, the Mets lost 100 or more games in five of their first six seasons. The team improved to 73-89 in 1968, but that was only good enough for ninth place in the 10-team National League.

However, the Miracle Mets stunned baseball in 1969. In 105 regular-season games, Kranepool had 11 home runs and 49 RBI to help the Mets win 100 games and take the newly minted NL East division in the first year of the four-team playoff format.

The Mets swept the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series three games to zero, with Kranepool notably scoring twice in a 9-5 Game 1 win.

Kranepool only played one World Series game, but he made the most of it, hitting a solo shot to help guide the Mets to a 5-0 victory over the 109-win Baltimore Orioles in Game 3. The heavy underdog Mets took the Fall Classic in five games.

The New York native also played for the National League pennant-winning 1973 Mets, who won the NL East despite being 48-60 and dead-last in the division (11.5 games back) on Aug. 5.

Kranepool saw limited playoff action, but he delivered one of the team's biggest hits courtesy of a two-run first-inning single in the fifth and deciding game of the NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds. The Mets won 7-2.

For his career, Kranepool hit 118 home runs to go along with 614 RBI. He scored 536 runs and hit .261 as well. Kranepool also made the 1965 NL All-Star team at the age of 20.

Per Len Hochberg of MLB.com, Kranepool ranks second in Mets history in plate appearances (5,997), third in hits (1,418), at-bats (5,436) and total bases (2,047), fourth in doubles (225) and fifth in RBI (614).