Bud Harrelson
From The Met Wiki
Derrell McKinley "Bud" Harrelson was a shortstop for the Mets from 1965 to 1977. He collected 1029 hits and 115 stolen bases as a member of the team. Harrelson played in 1322 games as a Met and also served the team as a broadcaster, coach and manager.
Harrelson began his career with 52 games in 1965 and 1966. He singled for his first major league hit on the Mets’ 8-6 win over the Cubs on September 19, 1965 at Chicago. He tripled for his first run batted in on August 28, 1966 at Atlanta. Also in ’66, Bud got a run-scoring triple and stole home in the ninth inning of a 5-4 Mets victory at San Francisco on September 16. At Cincinnati on September 25, he had three singles and three runs scored in an 8-4 Mets win over the Reds.
In 1967, Harrelson had 164 total bases in his first full major league season. He scored 59 runs and led the team with 48 walks. At Shea Stadium on July 2, Bud scored on a wild pitch in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 5-4 victory over the Cardinals. He got four hits and scored twice in the Mets’ 5-4 win over the Braves at Shea on July 9. Harrelson had two singles and two doubles in an 11-5 Mets win at San Francisco on July 26. At Pittsburgh on August 17, he hit an inside-the-park home run (his first career homer) in the Mets’ 6-5 triumph in the first game of a doubleheader.
Harrelson had 88 hits during the 1968 season. He played in 111 games during the year. Bud had two singles and a double in the Mets’ 5-1 win at Chicago on May 10. He singled four times, scored twice and had an RBI in an 8-4 Mets victory in a doubleheader opener on August 4 at Los Angeles. Harrelson also had three singles and a run scored in the Mets’ 2-0 triumph over the Reds at Shea on August 29.
In the Mets’ World Championship season of 1969, Harrelson batted .248 in 123 games played. He drove in 24 runs and scored 42 times. On May 28, Bud singled to drive home the winning run in the 11th inning for a 1-0 Mets victory over the Padres at Shea. He had three singles and two runs scored in the Mets’ 5-1 win at St. Louis on June 22. Harrelson had a single, two doubles and scored twice in a 3-0 Mets triumph over the Phillies on September 6 at Shea. He also singled off Bob Gibson in the 11th inning on September 23 at Shea to give the Mets a 3-2 win over the Cardinals and a tie-clinching for the National League East Division title.
Bud played in all eight of the Mets’ post-season games in ’69. In the National League Championship Series, he had a double, a triple and three RBIs in the Mets’ three-game sweep of the Braves. He also had three singles and three walks in the Mets’ World Series victory over the Orioles.
In 1970, Harrelson tied Met records with 157 games played and 8 sacrifice flies. He led the Mets with 8 triples and set a team mark with 95 walks. At Shea on April 17, Bud hit a triple and the only Shea homer of his career in a 6-0 Mets win over the Phillies. Nine days later at Los Angeles, he had three stolen bases in the Mets' 3-1 victory. Harrelson had two singles, a double, a stolen base and three runs scored in a 6-0 Mets victory on May 16 at Philadelphia. From June 9 to June 23, he had an 11-game hitting streak in which he went 16-for-42 for a .381 average. Bud also singled three times and scored a run in the Mets’ 7-1 win over the Expos on July 9 at Shea.
Also in ’70, Harrelson played in the All-Star Game at Cincinnati. He got two hits and scored two runs in the National League’s 5-4 victory in 12 innings.
Harrelson led the Mets with 6 triples and 28 stolen bases in 1971. He played in his second All-Star Game and won a National League Gold Glove Award. From April 18 to May 15, Bud got a hit in 23 of 24 consecutive games, batting .354 (35-for-99) with 10 RBIs. This streak began with a single in a 5-2 Mets victory over the Pirates at Shea. He singled four times and drove in three runs in the Mets’ 9-5 win at Pittsburgh in the final game of it. Harrelson got three singles and a stolen base in a 5-2 Mets triumph at San Francisco on June 2. At Atlanta on August 7, he scored three runs in the Mets’ 20-6 rout of the Braves. Bud also had three singles and a stolen base in a 7-1 Mets win on September 1 at St. Louis.
In 1972, Harrelson had 54 runs scored, 12 stolen bases and 75 singles to lead all Mets players. He also walked 58 times and drove in 24 runs. On May 1, Bud hit a rare home run and had a sacrifice fly in the Mets’ 7-4 win at San Francisco. On July 12 at Shea, he hit a two-run triple in a 4-0 Mets win over the Giants. Harrelson hit a run-scoring single in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 2-1 victory over the Astros at Houston on September 3. The following day at Shea, he singled three times and scored twice in the Mets’ 7-2 win over the Cubs in the second game of a Labor Day doubleheader.
Harrelson scored 35 runs and batted .258 in 1973. He accumulated 110 total bases in 106 games played during the Mets’ pennant-winning season. Bud had three singles and a run scored in an 8-1 Mets win over the Braves at Shea on May 9. At Montreal on May 16, he again singled three times and scored twice in the Mets’ 8-3 victory over the Expos. Harrelson had a single, two doubles and two RBIs in an 11-3 Mets win over the Expos at Shea on July 28. He also batted .361 (13-for-36) during a 10-game hitting streak from August 29 to September 7.
In the ’73 post-season, Harrelson became the center of attention. During Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Shea, he was shoved by the Reds’ Pete Rose and a bench-clearing brawl ensued. The incident led to some chaotic moments over the rest of the Series, won by the Mets two days later. In Game 2 of the World Series at Oakland, Bud was called out on a controversial play at the plate in the 10th inning before the Mets came up with a 10-7 win in the 12th.
In 1974, Harrelson had 75 hits and 13 RBIs in 106 games. He also drew 148 walks for the season. In a 4-3 Mets win at Pittsburgh on May 25, Bud had two singles and a double. He drove in the Mets only runs with a two-run homer in a 4-2 loss at Cincinnati on May 27. At Shea on June 6, Bud singled and scored the tying run in the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Reds on his 30th birthday. He also singled three times and scored twice in an 11-4 Mets win that completed a doubleheader sweep at Chicago on September 3.
Due to a knee operation, Harrelson was limited to 34 games in 1975. He had 16 hits and scored five runs during the season. Bud also had three RBIs in ’75, two of which came in the Mets’ 7-0 win at Pittsburgh on September 11.
Bud returned as the Mets’ regular shortstop in 1976. He played in 118 games and had a team-leading 9 stolen bases. In the season opener on April 9, Harrelson hit a two-run double in a 3-2 Mets win over the Expos at Shea. Against Montreal the next day, he tripled and scored the only run of a 1-0 Mets win. Bud hit his only home run of the year in an 8-7 Mets loss at Atlanta on May 11. He tripled and scored in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 3-2 win over the Cubs on July 3 at Shea. At Pittsburgh on August 5, Harrelson got four singles in a 7-4 Mets victory.
In 1977, Harrelson had 61 total bases in his final season as a Mets player. His 7 sacrifice bunts were the most on the team during the year. On May 31, Bud singled, tripled and scored twice in a 6-2 Mets win over the Expos at Shea. He had two singles and two runs scored in the Mets’ 6-5 victory at Atlanta on June 15. At St. Louis on September 30, Bud got a single off the Cardinals’ John Denny for the final hit of his Mets career.
In 1978 and 1979, Harrelson played for the Philadelphia Phillies. He ended his career with the Texas Rangers in 1980.
Harrelson served as a coach, manager and broadcaster for the Mets between 1982 and 1991. After a year on the coaching staff, he covered the team’s games on the Sportschannel cable television station in 1983. Bud managed the Mets’ A-level team in Little Falls to a New York-Penn League championship in 1984 and rejoined the team’s staff after managing at A-level Columbia in 1985. In 1990, Harrelson became the Mets’ manager on May 29. He led the team to a 145-129 record until his dismissal on September 28, 1991.
In 2000, Harrelson became a founding member of the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League.
