MBL Legend Dead at 81

(WatchDogReport.org) – MLB legend Jerry Grote died on April 7 at a Hospital in Texas at the age of 81 as a result of a respiratory failure during a cardiac procedure. New York Mets Jay Horwitz said in a statement that the former catcher died at the St. David’s Medical Center’s Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute after suffering from heart issues for years.

Mets owner Steve Cohen said in a separate statement that the team and the world of baseball were “incredibly saddened” by Grote’s death, whom he described as a great man and one of the greatest players in the franchise’s history. He added that Grote was one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time and made Mets fans feel lucky because of the 12 seasons he played at Flushing Meadows. Cohen also said that he feels grateful that Grote was able to reunite at Citi Field in 2019 with the teammates he played with in 1969 when the Mets conquered one of the greatest World Series of all times. He sent his “thoughts and prayers” to the Grote family.

The legendary MLB player was an All-Star catcher on two occasions and won the World Series with the so-called Miracle Mets, which shocked the world after beating the Baltimore Orioles, which was the greatest team back then. That season, the Mets had a young team with two outstanding pitchers, Tom Seavers and a young Nolan Ryan, who also surprised everyone after beating the Atlanta Braves in the Championship Series.

Grote started his career at the Houston Colt 45s before being traded to the Mets, where he became one of the greatest players of the era. He eventually played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and finished his career with the Kansas City Royals. Throughout his 16-year career, he was always a .252 hitter.

Grote was such a great catcher that even Johnny Bench once said he would have ended up playing third base if Grote had played for the Cincinnati Reds.