Shortly after Bud Harrelson publicly disclosed he had Alzheimer’s several years ago, a former Mets teammate visited him at his Long Island home.
The visitor, Art Shamsky, had brought along his glove, and soon the two members of the Mets’ first World Series-winning team were on Harrelson’s front lawn playing catch.
“People were honking their horns as they were driving by, but it was just so exhilarating to be playing catch,” Shamsky told The Post on Thursday. “We did what we do best: We played catch.”
Harrelson, the Mets’ slick-fielding shortstop, died early Thursday at 79 in hospice care following a lengthy battle with the insidious disease.
Shamsky said he last visited with Harrelson about a year ago, at which time his former teammate no longer recognized him.
Shamsky was traded to the team before the 1968 season, and the next year, the Mets assembled one of the most improbable runs in baseball history to affix the adjective “Miracle” to the team’s identity.
The Mets rose from ninth place in the National League to first in the NL’s newly created East Division before beating the Braves in the NLCS and Orioles in the World Series.
“Buddy was hard-nosed and I think a fan favorite because he wasn’t big, wasn’t big in stature, but he had a big heart, and people really appreciated his effort, and he was an important player over the years,” Shamsky said.
“He was a glue in the infield. We had terrific defense up the middle with Jerry Grote behind the plate and Buddy at shortstop, and then [Al] Weis and [Ken] Boswell at second, and [Tommie] Agee in center.
“When I got a chance to play first base, you saw the artist Buddy was. I never saw him make an error, but I am sure he did. I just don’t remember it.”
Shamsky in 2017 was working on his second book when he decided an interview with Tom Seaver, who had been diagnosed with dementia, was needed.
Shamsky traveled to Seaver’s home in Northern California along with former teammates Ron Swoboda and Jerry Koosman.
A call was placed to Harrelson to gauge his interest in the visit to Seaver’s home.
“At this point Buddy was just beginning to feel the effects of the disease, but he went with us, and we didn’t even know if we would get a chance to see Tom because he wasn’t feeling great,” Shamsky said. “It turns out we did. We took the trip out there, and I thought it would be great for Buddy and Tom, great therapy — they were friends and roommates on the road. It turned out to be an incredible weekend for us.”
In later years Harrelson moved into an assisted living facility. Seaver died in 2020.
“I look back on that trip as being very special for both of them,” Shamsky said.