Success came, but not easily or early for Jerry Grote. After hitting .181 in 100
games for the 1964 Colt .45s (later the Astros), he returned to the minors. The Mets
purchased his contract, but in his first two years in New York Grote hit poorly,
was mediocre behind the plate, and blamed it on the umpires, manager, and teammates.
Manager Wes Westrum said, "If he ever learns to control himself, he might become
the best catcher in baseball." Grote learned, becoming a key ingredient on Met teams
for a dozen years. Lou Brock once said that Grote was the toughest catcher in the
league to steal against. Grote was behind the plate on his birthday when the Mets
won their first pennant in 1969. He caught every inning of the 1969 and 1973 LCS
and WS, setting three WS fielding records in 1973. Though he played only 61 games
with the Dodgers, he appeared with them in the 1977 and 1978 WS. The Royals, short
of catching, lured him out of retirement in 1981.
(FJO)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»September 27, 1963: Using a lineup of nine rookies the Colt 45s lose 10–3 to the Mets. The lineup includes P Jay Dahl, 17 (debut); C Jerry Grote, 20; 1B Rusty Staub, 19; 2B Joe Morgan, 20; 3B Glenn Vaughan, 19; SS Sonny Jackson, 19 (debut); and outfielders Brock Davis, 19, Aaron Pointer, 21, and Jim Wynn, 21. Dahl loses his only ML game at 17 and will die in an auto accident at 19. Houston 2B Joe Morgan will play 22 years, and 1B Rusty Staub, 23. Aaron Pointer singles for his only hit this year: his sisters will do better with a top-10 hit of "Fire," by Bruce Springsteen. Joe Hoerner and Danny Coombs follow Dahl to the mound in their ML debuts. 20-year-old P Larry Yellen debuted yesterday and 18-year-old OF Ivan Murrell debuts tomorrow.
»October 19, 1965: The Mets purchase C Jerry Grote from Houston.
»April 22, 1970: Tom Seaver strikes out 19 Padres, including the last 10 in succession in winning 2–1 for the Mets. Mike Corkin takes the loss. In this century, no one has ever struck out 10 in a row, a ML record. Counting the ten whiffs yesterday, the Pads have struck out 29 times in two games, a NL record that will be topped in 1998 when the Astros miss 31 times in two days. Jerry Grote adds one foul fly catch to his 19 putouts via K's.
»June 25, 1971: Cleon Jones ties an National League record by drawing six walks, helping the Mets to a doubleheader sweep of the Expos, 4–1 and 4–2. Jerry Grote has three doubles in the opener, and Bud Harrelson knocks in three runs in the nite cap. Nolan Ryan (7-4) and Danny Frisella (4–1) are winners.
»September 5, 1975: Mets C Jerry Grote ties the modern major-league record by reaching base on errors three times during a 5–2 win over the Cardinals.
»June 3, 1981: Royals C Jerry Grote hits a grand slam (his first home run since 1976) and goes 3-for-4 with a club-record seven RBI to lead Kansas City to a 12–9 win over Seattle. Grote had returned from a 2-year retirement to win a spot with the Royals as a free agent during spring training.
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