Bookshelf Review: Turning Two

Turning Two: My Journey to the Top of the World and Back with the New York Mets, by Bud Harrelson with Phil Pepe. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012.

Harrelson’s new book is a bit a throwback. One could easily imagine reading this in the pre-Ball Four era. Other than a scant mention of disappointment for the way the careers of Dwight Gooden and Darryl strawberry turned out, there’s practically nothing in the way of locker room gossip, no stories of athletes on the prowl or behaving badly.

Harrelson played shortstop for the Mets from 1965-77, then finished up his 16-year career with the Phillies and Rangers. He was also a coach and manager for the team, so he has a unique perspective. He doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone, even Frank Cashen, who fired him as skipper in 1991 after Harrelson had taken over the previous year after a quarter of the season and led the Mets to a 71-49 record. (This is one of the few bones of contention I have with the otherwise humble Harrelson, when he writes about how the loss of Strawberry for the final six games of the year cost the team the division. “My record was 71-49, a winning percentage of .592. The Pirates finished first with a winning percentage of .586.” Sorry, Buddy; you may have been good while you were there, partial seasons don’t count.)

Turning Two is a pleasant enough read, full of nostalgia the Mets fans will no doubt enjoy. Harrelson is a loyal player/employee/friend. His writes about Gil Hodges, in particular, with an emotion that is rarely found from players. Similarly, he writes with great admiration for baseball personalities like Davey Johnson, Willie Mays, Frank Howard, and

On the negative side, too much time is spent rehashing old games in detail; such information can be found elsewhere. What we want is more of his perspectives. He was great friends with Tom Seaver, but mentions it almost in passing; there’s very little about Harrelson’s personal life. Perhaps that was never in his plans, but it makes the book somehow lacking. Only in the book’s final chapters does he share his opinions about the state of the game today, again, without being too harsh.

Also, the subtitle. “My Journey to the Top of The World and Back.” Before reading Turning Two, I imagined some sort of fall from grace, tragedy that he suffered, either professional or health-wise, or financially-related, but either there was none of that or the author is holding back.

All that said, though, fans of the era of which Harrelson was an integral part will no doubt appreciate reliving those memories Turning Two will supply.