On Sunday, former MLB catcher Jerry Grote passed away at the age of 81 of respiratory failure.
The Texas native spent the bulk of his 16-year MLB career with the New York Mets after starting out with the Houston Colt 45s. Grote also two stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and also briefly played with the Kansas City Royals. But Grote was a Met through and through. I would dare say that Grote was the greatest catcher in Mets history.
Now this is saying a lot. After all, the Mets have two catchers in Cooperstown - the late Gary Carter and Mike Piazza with the latter wearing a Mets a cap on his plaque. Of course, Carter was a cornerstone of the Mets' 1986 World Series title while Piazza was the power behind the Mets' NL pennant in 2000. Both Carter and Piazza were better offensive players than Grote. Indeed, Grote only hit 39 career HR while Piazza twice belted 40 in a season.
Yet without Grote there's a very good chance the Mets win neither the 1969 World Series nor the NL pennant in 1973. During his near dozen years at Shea Stadium, Grote mentored pitchers such as Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan, Tug McGraw and Jon Matlack. Upon learning of the passing of his former roommate, Matlack said of Grote, "He was the best catcher I ever threw to. I don’t think I ever shook him off once." Koosman said that Grote was "the reason for his success." When Seaver was inducted into Cooperstown in 1992, Grote was one of three catchers Tom Terrific singled out for praise. The two others were fellow Hall of Famers Carlton Fisk and Johnny Bench.
Bench, considered by most as the greatest catcher in MLB history, also had high praise for Grote stating, "If Jerry Grote was on my team, I'd be playing third base."
Now that's some epitaph. R.I.P.
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