May 11, 1963 - So what’s all this fuss about some joker climing Mount Everest? The Mets have climbed into seventh place — and they didn’t need 900 Indian natives to help them get there. All they needed was last night’s 5-hitter by Carlton Willey, and Ed (Kid) Kranepool’s clutch double, and Jim Hickman’s homer in the eighth to beat Cincinnati, 3-2. That’s five straight for the Amazin’ Mets, the grandest splurge in their 13-month existence. Right from the start, the 14,747 rooters proved their sign-painting was an up-to-the-minute endeavor. Several Met fans paraded around the ballpark with a neatly printed “We Miss Marv” banner, referring to Thursday’s demotion to the minors of marvelous Marv Throneberry. When Hickman’s homer broke a 2-2 tie with 2 out, a group behind third base produced a sign that read “Break Up the Mets.” And as soon as the eighth ended, another group had written advice ready for Manager Casey Stengel. Their sign said “We want Rod Kanehl,” and sure enough, Rod was trotting out to left as a ninth-inning defensive replacement at that very moment. Willey, meanwhile, outpitched Jim O’Toole, a young, strong southpaw who came into the game with a 6-1 record and 5 straight victories — one of them a 5-0 decision over Willey and the Mets in Cincinnati last month. It was Willey (3-1) who started the Met win streak by beating the Giants, 4-2, on Sunday. The Mets evened the score for him in the sixth. O’Toole helped by issuing three walks, but Ed Kranepool’s run-scoring double was the key blow. “This Kranepool,” said Stengel, “is remarkable — remarkable for the youth of the America — and for the colleges.” Nobody present was quite sure what young Ed had done for the colleges, but it didn’t matter. The Mets had won.
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