Harrelson was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Famein1986. He was the only person to take part in both of the Mets' World Series championships and appear in the first three World Series for the team; he won in 1969 and appeared in the 1973 World Series as a player and in 1986 as a coach. Harrelson is also the only person in Mets history to have appeared in four playoff seasons: as a player in 1969 and 1973 and as a coach in 1986 and 1988.
The Mets promoted Harrelson to the major leagues on September 1, 1965,[5] and he made his debut with the Mets the following day.[2] Harrelson anchored the Mets' infield for 13 seasons, including their 1969 championship season and 1973 pennant-winning season.[6][7] Weighing only 165 pounds (75 kg), Harrelson received the nicknames of "Twiggy", "Mighty Mouse" and "Mini Hawk" from his teammates.[8] Typical of shortstops of his era, Harrelson was a good fielder but poor hitter. He had a lifetime batting average of .236 and hit a total of seven home runs during his 15-year major league career, but had a lifetime .969 fielding percentage and won a Gold Glove Award at his position in 1971.[2] He was a National League All-Star in 1970 and 1971.[2]
On May 28, 1969, after a five-game losing streak that saw the Mets fall into fourth place in the newly aligned National League East, Harrelson hit an RBI single that won the game,[9] beginning an 11-game team winning streak[10] and a record of 82–39 over the rest of the season.[11][12]
On September 10, the Mets jumped into first place for the first time in franchise history. On September 24, the team clinched the NL East with a 6–0 victory over Steve Carlton and the St. Louis Cardinals.[13] The Mets won 38 of their last 50 games and finished the season with 100 wins against 62 losses, eight games over the second-place Cubs.[14][15] Harrelson batted .248 with no home runs, 24 RBI and 42 runs scored. He had a .969 fielding percentage in 119 games at shortstop.[16]
In the fifth inning, Rose's hard slide hard into second base sparked a bench-clearing brawl. The game was nearly forfeited when the Shea Stadium crowd threw objects at Rose, causing manager Sparky Anderson to remove the team from the field until order was restored. Mets manager Yogi Berra and players Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Cleon Jones and Rusty Staub walked to left field to attempt to calm the fans.[22]
After the Mets reacquired former #1 overall pick Tim Foli, Harrelson was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Fred Andrews and cash on March 23, 1978.[23] Rose and Harrelson became teammates with the Phillies but did not discuss the fight.[21] The Phillies released Harrelson before the start of the 1980 season.[24] Harrelson signed with the Texas Rangers in May after Rusty Staub broke a finger.[25]
Harrelson was a coach with the Mets during their 1986 World Series championship season and replaced Johnson following his dismissal as Mets manager 42 games into the 1990 season.[33] He led the Mets to their seventh consecutive winning season, finishing at 91–71.[16] During the 1990 season, Harrelson hosted a WFAN radio show called The Bud Harrelson Report but ended it early in the 1991 season because Harrelson felt that some of Howie Rose's questions were too negative.[34]
Although the Mets were contenders for most of the first half of the 1991 season and were as close as 2.5 games behind the eventual division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates, the team collapsed in the second half and Harrelson was fired with a week remaining in the season and replaced by his third base coach Mike Cubbage.[35] The Mets finished in fifth place at 77–84.[36][37][38]
In 2000, Harrelson became part-owner of the Long Island Ducks, a newly formed independent league baseball team.[39] He managed the Ducks in 2000, their inaugural season,[40] and became a coach for Ducks home games in their second season.[41] The Ducks retired Harrelson's uniform number 3 in 2018.[42]
Harrelson married his first wife Yvonne on December 17, 1965. They later divorced, and Harrelson married Kim Battaglia in 1975. His children are Kimberly, Timothy, Alexandra, Kassandra and Troy Joseph.[2] Harrelson was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of FameonLong Island in the baseball category in 1992.[43][44][45] He appeared as himself in a 1999 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond along with several other members of the 1969 Mets.[46] Harrelson resided in East Northport and Hauppauge, New York.[47]
^Anderson, Dave (April 28, 1991). "Sports of The Times; The Mets' Three Managers". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2018. Bud Harrelson, the sensitive incumbent, has canceled his pre-game WFAN radio show because he believes some of announcer Howie Rose's questions were too negative.
