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Jerry Grote, RIP

Gary Livacari

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Jerry Grote, RIP

“If Jerry Grote and I were on the same team, I would be playing third base” –Johnny Bench (1)

Possibly Johnny was exaggerating a bit in the above quote, but if so, it wasn’t by much.

Jerry Grote

As your friendly baseball historian, I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t take a few moments to reflect on the passing this week, aged 81, of a fine ball player who was one of the best defensive catchers of his era, Jerry Grote (October 6, 1942-April 7, 2024).

As a long-time Cub fan, I remember well the role he played for the Mets in upsetting the Cubs on their way to capturing the 1969 National League pennant and World Series championship against the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles.

Jerry Grote’s Career Stats

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Jerry Grote played sixteen seasons in the major leagues (1963-1981) for the Colt .45s (1963-’64), Mets (1966-’77), Dodgers (1977-’78), Royals (1981), and Dodgers (1981). Over his career, the two-time All-Star appeared in 1421 games, hitting .252, with 39 home runs, and 404 RBIs. Although his offense numbers seem modest, it was his defensive abilities that was his meal ticket to sixteen seasons in the Big Leagues. He compiled a .991 fielding percentage which at the time of his retirement ranked eighth all-time. He also possessed a strong, accurate arm against opposing base stealers, causing Lou Brock to cite Grote as one of the most difficult catchers for him to steal against.

Over his career, Grote caught some of the best pitchers of the era, including Tom Seaver, Jerry Goosman, Nolan Ryan,Tug McGraw, Tommy John, Don Sutton, and Dan Quisenberry. At the time of his passing, Mets’ pitcher John Matlack said of Jerry Grote, “He was the best catcher I ever threw to.”(2) He is the Mets’ all-time leader in games played as a catcher (1,176) with 116 shutouts to his credit, ranking him fifteenth on the all-time list.

1969 Miracle Mets

Mets celebrating World Series victory in 1969

Behind the plate for 113 games for the 1969 “Miracle Mets,” Grote batted .252 with career highs of six home runs and 40 RBIs. But it was on defense where he made his most valuable contributions. He posted a .991 fielding percentage and a 56.3 caught-stealing percentage, good for second-best among National League catchers. Under his guidance, the young Mets pitching staff led the National League in victories and shutouts, while finishing second in earned run average. He also played a pivotal role in the 1969 World Series:

Besides catching every inning in the postseason, Grote contributed offensively with a single in Game Two to keep a ninth-inning rally alive; Al Weis followed with the game-winning hit. With Game Four tied, Grote doubled to start the tenth inning, then pinch runner Rod Gaspar scored the winning run when an errant throw hit J.C. Martin on the wrist. With Grote calling the pitches, the Mets pitching staff held the Orioles hitters to a .146 batting average against during the series. (3)

1973 Mets reunion

In 1973, another pennant-winning year for the Mets, Grote was on the disabled list for two months with a broken bone in his arm. When he returned in mid-July, the Mets began winning, climbing from last place on August 30 to capture the National League Eastern Division. After advancing to the World Series by defeating the Reds in the NLCS, they took the two-time defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics to the seventh and final game of the Series. As he did in 1969, Grote caught every inning of every post-season game in 1973. After the Series ended, Grote was quoted as saying: “The 1969 season was no miracle. Now, ’73, that was a miracle.”(4)

Jerry Grote later in life

Following his playing days, he managed the Lakeland Tigers and Birmingham Barons in 1985. Grote has been elected to the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame (1991), the New York Mets Hall of Fame (1992), the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame (1998). In addition, he was named to the Trinity University Athletic Hall of Fame (2011), his alma mater.

Bill Schaefer Shares a Memory

Thanks to contributor Bill Schaefer, an avid Mets fan, for sharing this vivid “personal” memory shortly after Jerry Grote joined the Mets:
It was a steamy July Saturday in 1966 when the dismal Mets were on their way to a seventh straight loss against the Dodgers at Shea Stadium. I was watching the game with my girlfriend at her house in the living room, in Plainfield New Jersey. Our beverages were on the coffee table in front of us. Grote was involved in a rundown play, which the Mets botched badly, and a run scored. My blonde lovely was sound asleep next to me on the couch with zero interest in the dull contest that was playing out before us.
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I was an intense fan and I grumbled at the television…at the same time my fist came down forcefully on the table. Whereupon an ice cube jumped out of my glass and smacked my date directly in the forehead. She awoke with a start and with a hail of expletives promptly threw me out of the house. Jerry Grote and the Mets would get better but unfortunately, our relationship did not.

Thanks Bill!

Gary Livacari

Information: Excerpts edited from the Jerry Grote Wikipedia page. Quotes (1) and (4) from New York Post article on Jerry Grote, August 8, 2009; Quote (2) from Chicago Sun-Times, April 11, 2024, page 31; Quote 3) from Jerry Grote Wikipedia page. 

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