An apology to Bud Harrelson

Kids,

One time one of the most beloved Mets was a man named Bud Harrelson.

You can look up his stats and you’ll wonder how a man with a .236 lifetime average could last 16 seasons in the majors never mind be loved.  I have met Bud, he’s a nice man, gives off a nice vibe, and definitely isn’t on the roids.  Baseball Reference has him at 5 foot 11.  No way.

Never mind my passion for donuts, I’m much bigger than he is – and I am not big.   It was a different time in baseball.

Before Ripken and steroids, you could bat .219 and still start at SS as long as you got to enough balls.  That was a defensive position, much like catcher is now.  If you got some offense, that was a bonus.

Most of Buddy’s exploits were before my time, although I frequently saw his plays in the rain delay films that are now repurposed as Mets Yearbook on SNY.

In 1985 one of baseball’s great dynasties was born.  Although the pesky Cardinals edged out the Mets, the Amazins were surely on the rise with their young pitching, three sure-fire Hall of Famers, and a cast of gritty gamers.

Davey Johnson ran the team, and when Davey got tossed Buddy would take the reigns.  You’ll see Buddy wearing #23 in the Game 6 video as there goes Knight.

By 1991 something had gone horribly wrong.  The dynasty only won once.   Davey had been fired.   The Captain had not only gone to Cleveland, his career was now over.   Young stud pitcher Ron Darling was an Expo.   Mookie had gone to Toronto.  Dykstra and McDowell to Philly for someone named Juan Samuel .  The great Dwight (now “Doc”) Gooden won 13.

And we booed.

There was nothing more entertaining in those days than listening to Mad Dog Russo kill the Mets, and specifically Buddy, for hours at a time.

And we booed.

We booed so much that Buddy stopped coming out to make pitching changes.

So we booed more.

Our beloved shortstop and someone who was always the SS on the “all-time Mets” until Reyes came along was now the target of boos.

Since then Buddy hasn’t been around much.  I bet if you’re under 30 you don’t know much about him.   Both are a shame.

Buddy, I was one of the boo-ers.   I apologize.  20 years too late.