Jerry Grote, catcher for 1969 champion New York Mets, dies at 81

Jerry Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champion, died Sunday. He was 81.

Grote had suffered from heart issues and died in Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center in Austin, Texas, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said. Grote had been scheduled for a procedure and died of respiratory failure during the procedure, Horwitz said.

At two-time All-Star, Grote played 16 major league seasons and batted .252 with 39 homers and 404 RBIs.

“Backbone of a young Mets team who captured the heart of New York City,” Mets owner Steve Cohen and wife Alix said in a statement.

Grote had played two seasons with the Houston Colt .45s when the Mets acquired him in October 1965 for a player to be named, who turned out to be pitcher Tom Parsons.

Launched as an expansion team in 1962 to replace the departed New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, the Mets finished ninth or 10th in their first seven seasons before a remarkable turnaround in 1969.

"We were not supposed to do anything,” Grote said at the 50th anniversary celebration in 2019. “And we did it all.”

Grote nurtured a young pitching staff led by Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Gary Gentry, The Mets overtook the Chicago Cubs and moved into first place for the first time in their history on Sept. 10. They finished 100-62 to win the NL East by eight games, then swept three games from Atlanta in the first NL Championship Series and beat highly favored Baltimore in a five-game World Series.

"He was the glue that kept the staff together,” Mets star Cleon Jones said in a statement.

Grote was a first-time All-Star in 1968, starting for the NL in the All-Star Game at Houston's Astrodome and batting .282.

He hit .252 with six homers and 40 RBIs in 1969, starting 100 games behind the plate.