MLB Legend Bud Harrelson Passes Away at 79
By Don Burke
Published Jan. 11, 2024, 10:04 a.m. ET
Bud Harrelson, the shortstop on the Mets’ first two World Series teams and later the club’s manager for parts of two seasons, died Wednesday at a hospice home in East Northport on Long Island. Harrelson, who was 79 was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
A good-field, no-hit player, Harrelson spent 15 years in the major leagues and was the starting shortstop on both the Miracle Mets’ 1969 world championship team which upset the Baltimore Orioles that October and their 1973 National League pennant winners who lost that year’s World Series to the Oakland Athletics in seven games.
His death was announced by the Mets in a new release on Thursday morning.
“We were saddened to learn of Mets Hall of Famer Buddy Harrelson’s passing,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in the release. “He was a skilled defender and spark plug on the 1969 Miracle Mets. The Gold Glove shortstop played 13 years in Queens, appearing in more games at short than anyone else in team history. Buddy was the third base coach on the 1986 World Champs, becoming the only person to be in uniform on both World Series winning teams. We extend our deepest condolences to his entire family.”
Since 2000, Harrelson was affiliated with the independent league Long Island Ducks. He was their first manager, a member of their coaching staff and, at the time of his death, a vice president and part owner.
“The best thing I have ever done in baseball,” he said many times.
Buddy Harrelson waited anxiously in the offices of Dr. Max Rudansky, a Huntington-based neurologist who had asked the Mets legend for the list of troubling symptoms.
It was the summer of 2016 and words seemed to be disappearing from Harrelson’s vocabulary. He had difficulty finishing sentences and completing thoughts and often lost his place in a conversation. These weren’t new concerns: In 2013 the family had taken Harrelson to a different doctor, who attributed the decline to natural aging, stress and possibly depression.
But the red flags kept appearing. Harrelson started getting lost driving familiar routes. His ex-wife, Kim, was a car-length behind when Harrelson zoomed past a turn he’d taken a million times in his Hauppauge neighborhood. He then over-corrected by taking a sharp left from the far-right lane, nearly causing an accident.
Rudansky listened as Kim described the harrowing experience before Harrelson admitted this wasn’t the first time he’d become disoriented.
It wasn’t until 2018, two years after his diagnosis, that Harrelson went public with his battle. But once he did he became active in the fight against Alzheimer’s, raising money and awareness.
“Of course, Harrelson never backed down from a fight. A feisty competitor despite his size (5-foot-11, 160 pounds), Harrelson was probably best remembered for his fight with Pete Rose during Game 3 of the 1973 NLCS when Harrelson took exception to a hard slide into second base by the Cincinnati left fielder. Their skirmish in the swirling infield dirt at Shea Stadium led to benches-clearing brawl.”
Harrelson is survived by ex-wife Kim Battaglia, who remained his primary caregiver, his children Kimberly, Jessica, Timothy, Alexandra, Kassandra, Troy Joseph, and his grandchildren.