Ailing 1986 Mets catcher seeks his third kidney transplant in dire health crisis
One-time Mets catcher Ed Hearn knows it better than most: Three strikes and you’re out.
The 61-year-old backup to Gary Carter on the 1986 World Champions, after a pair of kidney transplants in the last 30 years, needs to find a third kidney from a living donor in the next three months to avoid dialysis and the likelihood of an early death.
“The bottom line is I need someone to step forward,” said Hearn, who spent decades as an motivational speaker and wrote the memoir “Conquering Life’s Curves: Baseball, Battles & Beyond” after a shoulder injury ended his three-year career in big leagues.
“I’m on the sidelines now. ... This is not about getting Ed Hearn out to the golf course or the bars and the beaches. This is about giving me an opportunity to get out and spread the story of living donations. The mortality rate at my age (without one) is 50% within five years.”
Ex-Met Ed Hearn in the hospital as he waits for a kidney.
The ex-major leaguer received his first new kidney in 1992, followed by a second one a decade later. He’s once again looking for a living donor as he did in 2002, as organs from the deceased last only about seven years — with an average wait time of 3 to 5 years.
“Quite frankly, when you go through the stuff I’ve gone through, wave after wave, it wears you down,” he acknowledged. “The juice of life comes through other people. That’s what kept me going all these years.”
Hearn is also no stranger to comeback stories: The Mets famously swept the last two games to take their second title in a dramatic World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox. He filled in for the injured Gary Carter during that magical season, hitting .264 with four homers as the future Hall of Famer’s temporary replacement.
Former New York Mets player Ed Hearn greets fans as he arrives at Citi Field before a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets Saturday, May 28, 2016. (Frank Franklin II/)
But he was traded a year later to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher David Cone, where Hearn spent two seasons before an shoulder injury derailed his career. Cone went on to win 194 games in a 17-year career, including stints with both the Yankees and the Mets.
Hearn said his post-baseball life came with its own challenges, including other health issues, that left him in a difficult spot.
“I went from the penthouse to the outhouse in a hurry,” he recalled. “I almost quit life. But I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and turned my life around.”
in 2001, Hearn was awarded the prestigious Certified Speaking Profession (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association — the first current or former professional athlete from our country’s major league sports to receive this designation.
His speaking led him through every state in North America and across Canada. The former catcher even landed an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
The ex-ballplayer recently found an unlikely ally in a Mets fan from Denville, N.J, a woman who reached out to help him locate a living donor. Donna Tissot, 70, has become an advocate for patients in need, and she’s helped 10 people find new organs since 2019 by creating posters spread via social media.
“I read a newspaper article about Ed, and I called him up about a week ago,” she recalled. “I explained what I do, and it’s history from there. He’s really a tough guy, a strong guy, and I hope we can find a selfless person who goes to bat for him.”
Ex-Met Ed Hearn needs a kidney transplant.
But the clock is still ticking. Anyone interested in donating a kidney to the real-life miracle Met can fill out a referral form at https://www.kidneyregistry.org/for-donors/ and identify Ed Hearn as the recipient.
Hearn, despite his dire health issues, can still manage a joke about the one-sided deal that sent him to the Royals for Cone.
“Here’s a great headline to create some interest in New York —'He got us Cone. Can’t we get this guy an extra kidney?’” he cracked from his Kansas home.
