He was a Buddy for everyone

Everyone called him Bud — or Buddy. 

Perhaps that's because everyone — from teammates to fans to Long Islanders who called him a neighbor and friend — saw him as just that.

But Bud Harrelson — whose full name was Derrel McKinley Harrelson — was so much more. 

Harrelson, who died Thursday at the age of 79 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, likely isn't the first player most people might mention when recalling the 1969 Miracle Mets. That honor might go to pitcher Tom Seaver or left fielder Cleon Jones. But Harrelson's scrappy play, slight build, generosity, and kind persona made him a fan favorite and a team leader. And no one could underestimate the gritty shortstop's abilities on the diamond, where he was an All Star and a Gold Glove recipient whose play was critical to the Mets' miraculous success in that very special season. The truth is that Harrelson was a bit of a miracle himself. 

But when remembering Buddy, some Mets fans might not first hark back to 1969.

They might remember that night at Shea Stadium in 1973 when the Mets were playing the Cincinnati Reds in the third game of the National League Championship Series and Pete Rose slid hard into a waiting Harrelson at second base. The larger Rose and the scrawny Harrelson wrestled in the dirt, leading to a bench-clearing brawl.

And they might recall that iconic October night in 1986 when Harrelson was the Mets' third base coach enthusiastically waving Ray Knight home after Bill Buckner's famous error. It led to Harrelson becoming the only person in uniform for both of the Mets' World Series wins.

For Long Island, however, Harrelson was known as more than a talented player or coach. He was one of us. A Suffolk County resident since that 1969 season, Harrelson became the co-founder, co-owner, manager and coach of the Long Island Ducks, a minor league team that Harrelson at one time called “the best thing I've ever done.” Fans across the Island have stories to tell of their interactions with Harrelson, memorable conversations, and the joy of watching one of their baseball heroes in a personal setting. Harrelson always was willing to give back, participating in charitable endeavors across the Island. And Long Island was his home until the end; he died at a hospice house in East Northport.

In recent years, Harrelson fought a difficult battle against a formidable opponent that left him unable to attend some of the Mets' commemorations and tributes, including Old Timers Day in 2022. But in 2017, Harrelson and other Mets greats Art Shamsky, Jerry Koosman and Ron Swoboda traveled to California to visit an ailing Seaver. By then, both Harrelson and Seaver were suffering memory loss. But the reunion was what Shamsky called a “golden moment.” 

Much like the many golden moments Buddy gave us.