Feb. 20, 1963 - At the moment, Marv Throneberry is still the Mets’ No. 1 first baseman, and it is a prospect that does not necessarily disturb manager Casey Stengel. He is fully aware of the satire last year that prompted so many in New York to tag Throneberry “Marvelous Marv.” “Don’t forget,” pointed out Stengel today in St. Petersburg, Fla., “last year was the first time he ever had a good chance to play the one position he can really play. Before that, he always had somebody blocking him off first base. When I had him with the Yankees, there was Moose Skowron. When he went to Kansas City, there was Norm Siebern. In Baltimore, it was Jim Gentile. After we got him from the Orioles last year, he played more games and hit more homers than he ever had in one season in the majors. He may surprise you.” If Throneberry doesn’t surprise, Casey has someone in reserve. He is Ed Kranepool, for whom the Mets shelled out a bonus of close to $75,000 last year, then shipped him to Austin, where he hit .351.
