Ultimate Mets Database - The Ultimate Mets Scrapbook

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

The Ultimate Mets Scrapbook, a website within a website, presents the history of the Mets as it was originally reported. The games, the trades, the people, the places. The good news and the bad news. The hard news, and the soft news. We have examples of all of that here.

A comment form is present for each article. As always, you are welcome and encouraged to share your thoughts with other visitors.

New articles will be added periodically, so keep coming back again to see what's new!

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Latest Release
Spotlight on Bud Harrelson

Released January 29, 2024
In memory of Mets Hall-of-Famer Bud Harrelson. This release includes articles dating back to when Bud first signed with the Mets organization in 1963, through his playing career including the World Championship in 1969, the fight with Pete Rose in 1973, his decline and trade to the Phillies, his return to the Mets organization as a minor league manager and then a major league coach, his turbulent tenure as Mets manager and his association with the Long Island Ducks. There's a lot here, so you'd better get started!

	Pete Rose: A Professional Player All the Way New York Daily News, October 11, 1973 After the legendary dustup between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose, M. Donald Grant of the Mets and Bob Howsam of the Reds tried to arrange a home-plate handshake between the two players. Harrelson reluctantly agreed, but Rose nixed the idea.
Tags: M. Donald Grant, Bud Harrelson.

	Pete, Bud "kiss, make up" The Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio), January 29, 1974 At an offseason baseball writers dinner, Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson show there are no hard feelings as Bud presents Pete with a "Good Guy" award. The article includes a photo of the two players flanking a smiling Yogi Berra.
Tags: Yogi Berra, Bud Harrelson.

	Bud: Someone Missed Boat Tampa Tribune, March 20, 1974 Bud Harrelson regrets that he and Pete Rose didn't do a television commercial together. Plus, a chat with Wayne Garrett, who appears to be establishing himself as the third baseman the Mets have been waiting for.
Tags: Wayne Garrett, Bud Harrelson.

	Harrelson Faces Surgery and Misty Future New York Daily News, May 21, 1975 As Roy McMillan once mentored young Bud Harrelson, Buddy is now mentoring his perceived successor, Mike Phillips. The Mets veteran shortstop, still only 30 years old, is struggling with a bad knee and is enduring a lot of pain.
Tags: Bud Harrelson, Mike Phillips.

	Bud Harrelson Worked Hard to Work Things Out New York Daily News, March 25, 1976 Bud Harrelson has endured a bad knee, a broken marriage (his wife ran off with a younger man) and a failed business, but in spring 1976 he feels things are looking up.
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	Harrelson Has Trouble With Some Answers Newsday, December 9, 1977 Bud Harrelson contemplates a possible end to his time with the Mets
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	Harrelson Wants Trade -- Won't Play for Mets New York Daily News, March 4, 1978 After the Mets reacquired Tim Foli to be their starting shortstop, Bud Harrelson has asked to be traded. He doesn't want to be a backup infielder on a team that won't be a contender.
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	A Phillie now Journal News (White Plains, NY), March 25, 1978 In retrospect, it's sad to see how jubilant Bud Harrelson is in this photo as he packs his bags to leave the Mets after having been traded to Philadelphia. But the Mets were going nowhere and the Phillies, in 1978, were the powerhouse team in the division. And as we now know, Bud's association with the Mets is still far from over.
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	Newest Mets' player is less than thrilled Poughkeepsie Journal, March 25, 1978 Bud Harrelson has been traded to the defending NL East Champion Phillies, but the player who came back in return, Fred Andrews, is slated to be a Triple-A player for an also-ran team. Not a good turn of events for Fred, who has 16 big league games under his belt but who would finish his career in Tidewater.
Tags: Fred Andrews, Bud Harrelson.

	When a Diamond Becomes a Ring Newsday, August 2, 1983 Newsday "TV Sports" columnist Stan Isaacs reviews a recent Mets broadcast on Sportschannel.
Tags: Bud Harrelson, Tim McCarver.

	Mets' farm team hires Harrelson Citizen Register (Ossining, NY), June 7, 1984 Bud Harrelson gets his first managing gig, with Little Falls of the Single-A New York-Penn League.
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	Buddy System at Little Falls Newsday, July 15, 1984 Newsday's Tom Verducci checks in with Bud Harrelson as he works the minor league circuit as a manager of the Mets' Single-A affiliate in Little Falls, New York.
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	This one's for you, Bud (Harrelson) New York Daily News, September 9, 1984 Bud Harrelson has concluded his first season as a minor league manager, winning a Manager of the Year award and the New York-Penn League championship at Little Falls. This article includes praise for Bud from a future Mets shortstop, Kevin Elster.
Tags: Kevin Elster, Bud Harrelson.

	Mets' Harrelson: This Bud's for you, Columbia The State (Columbia, SC), January 19, 1985 Bud Harrelson is the new manager of the Columbia Mets of the South Atlantic League. In this article he reflects on what he learned the previous year at Little Falls in his first season as a professional manager. He's also photographed wearing what looks to be a ridiculously large button on his jacket.
Tags: Bud Harrelson, Steve Schryver.

	Mets Wonder Who'll Be At 3d New York Daily News, May 17, 1985 Bobby Valentine is leaving his position as the Mets third-base coach to manage the Texas Rangers. Among the candidates to replace him: Sam Perlozzo, Bill Robinson, and the eventual choice, Bud Harrelson.
Tags: Bud Harrelson, Sam Perlozzo, Bill Robinson, Bobby Valentine.

Mets, former mentor enjoy reunion
Columbia Record (Columbia, SC), July 30, 1985
Bud Harrelson left his job managing the Columbia Mets during the 1985 season in order to join Davey Johnson's big-league coaching staff. In this article, Bud is interviewed while on a return visit to Columbia, where he reflects on his time there and on some of the differences between being a minor-league manager and a major-league third-base coach.

Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	Harrelson saw all the action Poughkeepsie Journal, October 27, 1986 The bottom of the tenth inning of Game Six of the 1986 World Series is surely the most legendary half inning in Mets history. Bud Harrelson was the third base coach as the monumental events unfolded, and in this article he shares his perspective.
Tags: Gary Carter, Bud Harrelson, Ray Knight, Kevin Mitchell.

	Mets' Harrelson displayed a touch of class and heart New York Daily News, February 18, 1987 The term "class act" gets used a lot, and in this Daily News column by Howard Cosell, we see how aptly it applies to Bud Harrelson.
Tags: Bud Harrelson.

	Suddenly, Bud's Stock Is Blue Chip Newsday, October 23, 1988 In October of 1988, Marty Noble of Newsday speculates that Bud Harrelson's chances of becoming a big league manager are looking good. He's being considered for a position with the White Sox, but he may eventually succeed Davey Johnson, if Mike Cubbage doesn't.
Tags: Mike Cubbage, Bud Harrelson, Davey Johnson.

	New faces, old result: Buddy's Mets lose New York Daily News, May 30, 1990 Davey Johnson has been fired and Bud Harrelson is the new manager of the Mets. He doesn't get off to a good start, however. The Mets lose his debut game 2-1 in Cincinnati.
Tags: Bud Harrelson, Bob Ojeda.

Other releases

August 31, 2023
Forty-three Obituaries
Obituaries for 43 Mets players, coaches, etc., including John Stearns, Tim McCarver, Joe Pignatano, Pedro Feliciano, and more.

Here's the full list:

Larry Bearnarth, Jerry Buchek, Chuck Carr, Gene Clines, Tommy Davis, Pedro Feliciano, Tony Fernandez, Larry Foss, Jim Frey, Bob Friend, Jesse Gonder, Joe Grzenda, Tommy Holmes, Jeff Innis, Cookie Lavagetto, Phil Linz, Tim McCarver, Jeff McKnight, Herb Moford, Harold W. O'Shaughnessy, Brock Pemberton, Joe Pignatano, Grover Powell, Hal Reniff, Arthur Richman, Les Rohr, Red Ruffing, Ray Sadecki, Dick Selma, Norm Sherry, Dick Sisler, Denny Sommers, Tracy Stallard, Eddie Stanky, Leroy Stanton, John Stearns, Dick Stuart, Ralph Terry, Claudell Washington, George Weiss, Carl Willey, Gene Woodling, and Don Zimmer.

July 31, 2023
Ron Swoboda, Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter's debut, and more

Spotlights on Ron Swoboda, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Gary Carter's Opening Day home run in 1985
Portraits of Jerry Koosman, Bud Harrelson, Ron Swoboda, and Wayne Garrett by Bruce Stark
A visit from Cool Papa Bell
A memorable 18-inning win over the Pirates in 1985 at Shea
Obituary of Mets coach Clyde McCullough
Cartoons from Bill Gallo and Bruce Stark
The morning of the first home opener at Citi Field, by Mike Lupica
Francisco Alvarez enjoys participating in the Subway Series against the Yankees

November 16, 2022
Kevin McReynolds, Bruce Stark (1963), Robert F. Kennedy

Spotlight on Kevin McReynolds
Four 1963 cartoons by Bruce Stark of the Daily News.
The Mets honor the memory of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Rick Aguilera struggles to gain a foothold in the 1988 Mets starting rotation.

November 7, 2022
April 1962
Contemporary coverage of the Mets' first month in the National League. Their first game in St. Louis, a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, the reopening of the Polo Grounds after four idle years, their first home game, and more, including profiles of Joan Payson and Jay Hook.

October 26, 2022
Expansion Draft, Tim Foli, Shea Goodbye

Coverage of the 1961 expansion draft which provided the Mets with their first batch of players.
Spotlight on Tim Foli. The Mets made him the first draft pick in the nation in 1968.
Shea Goodbye! The final game ever played at Shea Stadium ended the Mets' postseason hopes, but was followed by a star-studded ceremony.
Polo Goodbye! The final game ever played at the Polo Grounds had no fanfare at all and very few fans in attendance.
Now Straw's the Man Who Stirs the Mets: A Joe Gergen column from Newsday in 1988. Darryl Strawberry is coming into his own as a superstar.
From 1969, Bruce Stark portraits of Tom Seaver and Cleon Jones.
Obituaries of Bill Robinson and Clem Labine.

October 18, 2022
First update
Jim Bunning's 1964 perfect game, and Mets postseason losses in 1973, 1986, 2000, and 2015. Willie Randolph gets fired, Warren Spahn dies, Ron Darling and Tim Teufel get arrested, trades for Bruce Berenyi and for Carlos Baerga, and more. Includes two cartoons from Bruce Stark.