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.”