Harrelson led the 1969 Miracle Mets as their starting shortstop.
The Mets announced on Thursday that former player and manager Bud Harrelson, who was 79 years old, passed away in hospice care in East Northport, Long Island, on Wednesday night.
After receiving an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016, Harrelson fought the illness for many years. In 2021, he was forced to relocate into an assisted living facility. In a 2022 article on MLB.com, Harrelson stated that he “wanted people to know what he was going through and not feel alone if they, too, were affected by the disease.”
The majority of people only knew Harrelson from his playing days. In three different seasons, he received down-ballot MVP votes and was a two-time All-Star and Gold Glover. He spent 13 years as a player with the Mets, 2 with the Phillies, and 1 with the Rangers. He totaled 1,120 hits, 127 stolen bases, and 539 runs in 1,553 MLB games.
Most notably, he played shortstop for the 1969 “Miracle” Mets, a team that finished 10 games behind on August 14 but went on to win the NL East, the NLCS, and the World Series in five games.
Harrelson also became known for an on-field brawl with Pete Rose during the 1973 NLCS. In a postgame quote after Game 2, Harrelson mocked the Reds’ lack of offense. In Game 3, Rose retaliated with a hard slide:
Subsequently, Harrelson joined the Mets coaching staff and assumed the role of third base coach in 1985. He spent a portion of the 1990 and 1991 seasons in that role before taking over as manager. This indicates that Harrelson was in uniform for both of the Mets’ World Series victories and served as the third-base coach for the 1986 World Series victory.
The owners of the Mets, Steve and Alex Cohen, released a statement saying, “We were saddened to learn of Mets Hall of Famer Buddy Harrelson’s passing. He was an excellent sparkplug and defender for the Miracle Mets in 1969. During his 13-year tenure in Queens, the Gold Glove shortstop made more appearances at shortstop than any other player in team history. Buddy was the only player to wear a uniform on both World Series-winning teams while serving as the third base coach for the 1986 World Champions. We send his entire family our sincere condolences.”