Former Mets' catcher Jerry Grote passed away on April 7, 2024, at age 81.
Grote made his major-league debut with the Houston Colt .45s in September 1963. He spent the entire 1964 season with the Colts, taking over the starting catching job from John Bateman by mid-season.
Curiously, he spent all of 1965 in the minors.
After the '65 season, he was traded to the Mets for a pitcher who did not play in the majors after that trade.
Grote was the Mets' #1 catcher from 1966-76, and made the All-Star team in 1968 and 1974.
He was traded to the Dodgers in late-1977, and was their backup catcher through the 1978 season.
Grote retired after 1978, but came back with the Royals in 1981, before returning to the Dodgers for the final month of the season.
Lou Brock found Grote to be one of the most difficult catchers on which to attempt a stolen base.
Johnny Bench once said "If Grote and I were on the same team, I would be playing third base."
1 comment:
Damn, I hadn't heard. Grote was a star on the Mets team of my youth. And so soon after the passing of Pat Zachry, not to mention that Grote's backup Ron Hodges passed a few months ago. As Chuck D said, it's so hard to see my baseball cards move on.
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