HOUSTON — Every year on Opening Day, Max Kranick would watch his dad, John, and a group of friends leave Jessup, PA. in the morning to make the trek to Shea Stadium. It was a longstanding tradition for the right-hander’s dad, but somewhere along the line he stopped going. Kranick was never sure why.
But the tradition will continue this year. After a few long injury-plagued years, Kranick managed to grab a spot in the Mets bullpen out of camp. A week from now, his friends and family will once again make the trip from the Scranton area to Queens to see Kranick in the big leagues for the first time since 2022.
“My brother was in Texas [on Wednesday] and said, ‘Hopefully, it’s the first of many again,’” Kranick told the Daily News this week in Houston.
John Kranick Sr. grew up in West Orange rooting for the Mets and passed the fandom down to his three sons, Max, John and Connor. SNY posted photos of a young Max in orange and blue shortly after David Stearns announced that the long reliever made the Opening Day roster, and Kranick said there’s plenty more where those came from.
It’s strictly business now that he’s back in the big leagues, three years after undergoing Tommy John surgery, one year after a hamstring injury set him back in what was supposed to be his first season since UCL reconstruction, and less than a year since the Mets moved him into a relief role. Still, there’s always something special about putting on the uniform of the team you grew up rooting for as a kid.
“I called my parents [Wednesday] and everyone was pretty emotional,” Kranick said. “The way the last couple years have gone, it’s been a lot of ups and downs, but mostly downs. I’m just kind of proud of myself, where I’m at.”
Drafted out of high school in 2016 by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kranick was moved through the Pirates’ system quickly after the cancellation of the 2020 season. He came into the 2021 season having never played above A-ball, but by June he was in the big leagues. He made nine starts as a 23-year-old, and looked as though he’d crack the major league roster out of camp the following season.
But then came Tommy John surgery in June 2022. Kranick had pitched five scoreless innings in the big leagues and had a 2.70 ERA in Triple-A. He was looking more and more like a big league starter, but then he was sidelined for more than a year.
Kranick returned in 2023 and picked up right where he left off, making seven starts and finishing with a sub-3.00 ERA. The Bucs put him on waivers after the season and the Mets picked him up, needing starting depth in Triple-A.
After a solid spring with the Mets, he strained his hamstring. It was a frustrating blow. The Mets then converted him to a reliever midway through the season, something he wasn’t initially happy about.
Ultimately, the conversion led him back to the big leagues.
“It’s just crazy the difference a year makes,” Kranick said. “[Syracuse bench coach] J.P. Arencibia texted me yesterday and just said he’s proud of me. It kind of really hit me, like last year this time I was getting ready to start a rehab assignment with my hamstring like. I was feeling OK, but kind of somewhere in the middle. Now, I feel really good and I’m just excited to get back out there whenever my name is called.”
Now 27, Kranick is more sure of his stuff and how to use it. He knows it plays to big-league hitters and he knows how to throw a lot of strikes. He allowed only two earned runs in 12 1/3 Grapefruit League innings, and while he knows the controlled atmosphere of spring training games is much different than a regular-season major league game, his ability to get himself back into good counts after falling behind has him feeling like he’s ready for whatever comes.
“I threw a lot of strikes, and I think even when I was behind in counts, I was able to get back into counts,” he said. “I think the fastball strength is always going to be my strength, so now it’s like fine-tuning the other things.”
With Kranick stretched out to be able to throw up to 45 pitches, the Mets see him as a huge asset early in the season when pitchers are coming out of games early. For Kranick himself, he sees a light at the end of the injury tunnel.
“There were points in the middle there where you’re not really too sure,” Kranick said. “You’re doubting yourself, thinking kike, ‘Am I doing everything? Am I going to be good enough again?’ Those types of thoughts. So this just means a lot. It’s pretty surreal.”
