Bud Harrelson and veteran author Phil Pepe have created a gem here. The shortstop had a long, respectable baseball career and he’s still one of the most popular New York Mets of all-time. His place in Mets history is cemented and his back story is interesting.

The book does re-visit the Pete Rose scuffle in the ’73 playoffs. He talks a lot about his teammate and roommate, Tom Seaver, even the first time “Tom Terrific” threw batting practice.

Like most light-hitting players a la Joe McEwing who owned Randy Johnson, Buddy owned Bob Gibson!
This book offers great insight into the way manager Gil Hodges put together the ’69 team. A story about a Cleon Jones homer was interesting and something I’d never heard about. Jerry Grote is prominently mentioned as well.

A listing of “all” of Harrelson’s homers is fun to look at for sure. He names the pitchers and the ballparks.

A conversation Buddy had with Casey Stengel really showed the magic of Stengelese!

In ’72 Harrelson declined a trip to the All-Star game and he got Chris Speier in by pushing him to the manager. Speier was often overlooked and that year he wasn’t!

This book by St. Martin’s Press pulls no punches and is a breath of fresh air.

You can purchase the book here:
Turning Two: My Journey to the Top of the World and Back with the New York Mets