While New York Mets fans mourned the loss of franchise fixture Bud Harrelson on Thursday, it’s important to note that the 79-year-old player and coach had a connection to the Philadelphia Phillies too.
Harrelson died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease in East Northport, N.Y.
While Harrelson played most of his career with the Mets, he joined the Phillies in early 1978 in a trade that sent Fred Andrews and cash to the Mets. Harrelson and Pete Rose became teammates, a pair of players that had a legendary fight in the 1973 NLCS when Harrelson was with the Mets and Rose was with the Cincinnati Reds.
Harrelson played two seasons with the Phillies, batting .241/.357/.282/.639 in 124 games. After the Phillies released him after the 1979 season, he signed with the Texas Rangers for one final season before moving into coaching.
Harrelson was born on D-Day — June 6, 1944 — and signed with the Mets as an undrafted free agent out of San Francisco State in 1963.
Once he made it to the Majors, he played 13 seasons, including a role in the Mets’ miraculous 1969 World Series title. Never considered a productive hitter — he batted .239 for his career — he was a quality infielder who was a two-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove in 1971. He is a member of the New York Mets Hall of Fame.
Once Harrelson was done playing, he returned to the Mets in a coaching capacity in the minors and reached the Majors in 1985 as a coach, replacing Bobby Valentine, who took over the Rangers as manager.
Harrelson served as a coach on Davey Johnson’s staff during the team’s run to the 1986 World Series title and took over as manager after Johnson was fired in 1990. Harrelson went 145-129 in parts of two seasons guiding the Mets.
Later, he served as coach and part-owner of the independent Long Island Ducks.
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