Former New York Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson has died at age 79 on Wednesday night after a battle with Alzheimer’s, according to the Associated Press.
Bud Harrelson was an anchor of the Mets’ championship team in 1969, the team that was coined the “Miracle Mets” and he was with the organization for the 1986 championship as well as the team’s third-base coach. He is the only one to be in uniform for both Mets World Series titles. Harrelson spent 13 years with the Mets before spending time with the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers over the final three years of his career.
The Mets said on Thursday morning that Harrelson died at a hospice home in Northport, New York after a battle with Alzheimer’s, which he was diagnosed with in 2016.
Harrelson was part-owner of the Long Island Ducks independent minor league team that was located minutes from his home, according to the Associated Press. He called his decades of work with the team his greatest achievement in baseball.
In Game 3 of the 1973 NL Championship series, Harrelson famously fought Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds, who slid hard into second base on a double play, sparking a bench-clearing brawl.
After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he joined the board of directors of Alzheimer’s Association Long Island and worked to raise awareness while still making it out to Ducks games, according to the Associated Press.
“I feel like I’m home when I’m there. I’m with the people I love,” Harrelson said of attending Ducks games, according to the Associated Press. “I want people to know you can live with (Alzheimer’s) and that a lot of people have it. It could be worse.”
Harrelson made it to Citi Field for the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Miracle Mets.
It is an emotional day for the Mets organization and baseball fans in general.
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