NEW YORK -- On a Zoom call earlier this year, Mets officials told members of Bud Harrelson¡¯s family that they planned not only to honor the late Mets shortstop with an on-field ceremony on Opening Day, but they also intended to remember him all season with a uniform patch -- one of the rarest honors for a player. As one of his daughters, Kimberly Harrelson Psarras, recalled the scene, ¡°Nobody said anything. You could hear a pin drop.¡±

¡°When you think about the history of the Mets, Bud Harrelson is just such an important part of that,¡± Mets owner Steve Cohen said. ¡°It just seemed like the right thing to do.¡±

• Mets Hall of Famer Bud Harrelson dies at 79

The sleeve patch, which features Harrelson¡¯s No. 3 and the name ¡°Buddy¡± on a black diamond, is one of several ways the Mets have memorialized Harrelson since his passing in January. Friday, they added another, inviting Harrelson¡¯s six grandchildren onto the field for their Opening Day ceremonial first pitches. In total, 23 of Harrelson¡¯s family members were at Citi Field for the event.

¡°Family was everything for him,¡± Psarras said. ¡°He loved his kids, loved his grandkids. There wasn¡¯t anything he wouldn¡¯t do for his family. The same for his fans. He signed autographs any time. He never turned away anybody. I have memories of friends ¡­ where I grew up who still talk about how they would knock on the door, and my dad never turned anybody away. He would always sign autographs or invite them in.¡±

A two-time All-Star during a Mets career that stretched from 1965-77, Harrelson was one of a handful of players to appear on both the ¡¯69 and ¡¯73 National League pennant winners. He is perhaps best-known for his fight with Pete Rose during the ¡¯73 National League Championship Series, which Psarras recalls among her earliest memories of her father as a baseball player.

Harrelson went on to become a coach for the 1986 team, making him the only person in uniform for both of the franchise¡¯s World Series titles. He is also the only one to win three pennants.

Friday, the Mets remembered Harrelson for all that and more over his decades in the organization.

¡°He wouldn¡¯t have made it a big deal,¡± Psarras said. ¡°He would have taken it in and probably would have said he doesn¡¯t deserve it. But he would have taken it with pride and loved that he was honored.¡±