Bud Harrelson, former shortstop and manager of the New York Mets, has died at the age of 79.
Harrelson was in a hospice on Long Island and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016. The California native publicly battled the disease for several years before retiring from public life.
Throughout his health struggles, Harrelson remained true to his professional pride and joy. He was part owner of the Long Island Ducks, an independent minor league team just minutes from his home. He called his decades of work for the club – which he played a key role in starting and leading – his greatest success in baseball.
Known for his glove work as a shortstop, Harrelson played 15 MLB seasons and was a member of the 1969 “Amazin' Mets,” who ended years of futility by defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. He also famously clashed with Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose in Game 3 of the 1973 National League Championship Series.
The team said Harrelson's family is planning a celebration of his life at a later date.
Bud Harrelson, former shortstop and manager of the New York Mets, has died at the age of 79
Harrelson had a short and unsuccessful tenure as Mets manager but remained popular with fans
Harrelson's teammate Art Shamsky reacted to the news on X.
“Words cannot describe this and I am so sad to hear of #BudHarrelson’s passing,” Shamsky wrote. “A great teammate and friend and a huge part of the Miracle in 1969. His battle with Alzheimer's is so inspiring. A true icon in #NYMets history. Prayers to his family and loved ones. RIP buddy!'
“My condolences go out to the family and many friends of Bud Harrelson, one of the noblest and finest people I have ever met in my 50-year career,” longtime Newsday sportswriter Bob Herzog wrote Thursday. “I have had several personal interactions with Buddy that I will always cherish. And today I will proudly wear the Ducks jacket he gave me.”
During his major league career, which spanned from 1965 to 1980, the hard-hitting Harrelson was selected to two All-Star Games and won a Gold Glove. Known to family and teammates as Buddy, he spent his first 13 seasons with New York and was the only man in a Mets uniform to win both World Series titles.
The first came in 1969 as the Miracle Mets' infield anchor, the other in 1986 as the club's third base coach.
In one of the most famous scenes in baseball history, it was an ecstatic Harrelson who beckoned Ray Knight with the game-winning hit after Bill Buckner's error in Game 6 of the 1986 Series against Boston.
Harrelson also managed the Mets for nearly two seasons, leading them to second place in the NL East in 1990 after taking over in late May. He was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 1986, joining Rusty Staub as the first two players to be honored.
“It was easy to see why the '69 guys loved him.” “He was great on defense and he was tough,” Mets broadcaster Ron Darling, who played for the club from 1983 to 1991, told New York Post in 2018.
Pete Rose (left) of the Cincinnati Reds hits Harrelson in Game 3 of the 1973 NLCS
Mets fans never forgave Pete Rose, who remained a fixture in the National League until 1986
In Game 3 of the 1973 NL Championship Series between the Mets and the Cincinnati Reds, Rose slid hard against Harrelson at second base due to a double play. The two eventually went head-to-head and then fought in the infield of Shea Stadium, leading to a wild bench brawl that spilled into the outfield.
Weighing more than 30 pounds, the scrawny, hunky Harrelson had the worst of it.
But he didn't give in.
“I don’t regret doing it with Rose. “I did what I had to do to protect myself, and Pete did what he thought he had to do to try to motivate his team,” Harrelson wrote in his 2012 memoir, “Turning Two: My Journey to the Top of the World and Back”. with the New York Mets, co-authored by Phil Pepe. “We fought and that was the end.”
Somehow.
The game was stopped because angry fans threw objects at Rose, and the Reds were dragged off the pitch by manager Sparky Anderson until order was restored. Mets captain Yogi Berra and players like Willie Mays and Tom Seaver went to left field to calm the crowd.
Cincinnati players were apparently upset by a comment from Harrelson after Game 2. Harrelson made light of his own shortcomings, saying Mets pitcher Jon Matlack “made the Big Red Machine look like I was hitting” after the left-hander had thrown a two-hit shutout.
“I didn't think it was that bad.” “I belittled myself a little bit, but I also belittled her,” Harrelson said. “Then I heard they were coming after me and stuff, so I figured that was it. And when Pete hit me after I had already thrown the ball, I got angry. And we had the little match. He just picked me up, laid me down to sleep and then it was all over.”
Mayor John Lindsay is drenched in champagne with Bud Harrelson in 1969
Harrelson later wrote that Charlie Hustle caught him with “a cheap shot.” But the former shortstop also joked about the upset, often saying, “I hit him with my best shot. 'I hit him right in the fist with my eye.'
The two became teammates years later in Philadelphia, and when their playing days were long over, Harrelson, Rose's baseball career leader, signed a photo of the fight for him and wrote, “Thank you for making me famous.”
Harrelson later mentored Rose's son with the Ducks, and the elder Rose even attended a few games, Harrelson said.
Harrelson was traded to the Phillies in 1978 and spent two years with them before playing his final season for the Texas Rangers. A switch-hitter, he finished his career with a .236 batting average and a .616 OPS. He hit seven home runs – never more than one in a season – and stole 127 bases, including a career-high 28 for the Mets in 1971.
Despite his lack of power, Harrelson could be troublesome at the plate. He drew 95 walks in 1970 and was always a good bunter. He batted .333 lifetime (20 for 60) against Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, with 14 walks and just three strikeouts for a .459 on-base percentage.
“I've always said that on three and two I'll thank God and take my chances.” “I could get two fouls before he gave me ball four,” Harrelson wrote.
Harrelson is seen with his former teammates (from left) Ed Kranepool, Tommy Agee, Ed Charles, Tom Sever and Art Shamsky during a press conference in December 1998
Harrelson came off the bench in the 1970 All-Star Game in Cincinnati, scoring twice and scoring two goals. The following season he was the National League shortstop at Tiger Stadium and won his only Gold Glove that year.
Harrelson went 3 for 17 (.176) with three walks as the Mets defeated heavily favored Baltimore in the 1969 World Series. He had a .379 on-base percentage during a seven-game loss to Oakland in the '73 Series after New York defeated Cincinnati in the playoffs.
As manager of the Mets from 1990 to 1991, Harrelson compiled a 145-129 record.
Derrel McKinley “Bud” Harrelson was born on D-Day, June 6, 1944, in Niles, California. He attended San Francisco State College and signed with the Mets in June 1963 for $13,500, despite the New York Yankees offering $3,000 more.
Harrelson said he was a little intimidated by the Yankees' storied history and worried he might get stuck in the minors with them. He figured the Mets, an expansion franchise in 1962, could offer a quicker path to the majors.
At the beginning of his professional career with the struggling club, he tried the switch hit at Casey Stengel's suggestion and stuck with it.
In 1972, Harrelson wrote a textbook called “How to Play Better Baseball.”
After his diagnosis, Harrelson joined the board of the Alzheimer's Association Long Island and worked with his family to raise awareness. He still made it to Ducks games and eagerly greeted fans as a goodwill ambassador, even though he could no longer take batting practice or coach first base.
“I feel like I'm home when I'm there.” “I'm with the people I love,” Harrelson told the Post.
“I want people to know that (Alzheimer’s) is something you can live with and that many people suffer from it,” he said. 'It could be worse.'
Despite his condition, Harrelson was at Citi Field in 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mets' 1969 championship. Tom Seaver, his good friend and former roommate, was not in attendance after the Hall of Fame pitcher was diagnosed with dementia.