NEW YORK (AP) — 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. On the night the Mets moved into the division lead, he caught all 21 innings in a doubleheader sweep of Montreal.
Grote caught every inning of the postseason. He had a two-out single off Dave McNally in the ninth inning of World Series Game 2 to put runners at the corners, and Al Weis followed with an RBI single that lifted the Mets to a 2-1 win. Grote doubled off Dick Hall leading off the 10th inning of Game 4, and pinch-runner Rod Gaspar scored on J.C. Martin's sacrifice bunt for another 2-1 victory.
"Without Jerry, we don’t win in 1969," Mets outfielder and first baseman Art Shamsky said in a statement. "It’s as simple as that.”
Grote was the Mets' primary catcher from 1966-71, then started sharing time with Duffy Dyer in 1972. He helped the Mets win another NL pennant in 1973. Praised for his defense, Grote made his second All-Star team in 1974.
“He was the best catcher I ever threw to,” Mets pitcher Jon Matlack said in a statement.
Following the emergence of John Stearns, Grote was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 1977, became a free agent after the 1978 season and then retired. He changed his mind three years later and split 1981 with Kansas City and the Dodgers. He had a career-best seven RBIs on June 3, 1981, hitting a grand slam off Seattle's Ken Clay.
Gerald Wayne Grote was born in San Antonio on Oct. 6, 1942. He was a three-sport star at MacArthur High and attended Trinity University in San Antonio, where he gained catching skill with the help of former big leaguer Del Baker, an adviser to the team.
In the days before the amateur draft, Grote was signed by Houston scout Red Murff in 1962 and made his big league debut on Sept. 21, 1963. Grote entered in the fifth inning against Philadelphia at Colt Stadium and hit a sacrifice fly off Dallas Green in his first plate appearance.
Grote was traded to the Mets after Murff switched to New York and recommended his acquisition.
Twice divorced, Grote is survived by his third wife, Cheryl; son Jeff; daughters Jennifer Jackson and Sandy Deloney; and step-daughter Laurel Leudecke, according to the Mets.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/ml
FILE - New York Mets catcher Jerry Grote is seen at spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Fla., in March 1977. Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champion, died Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Harry Harris, File)
FILE - New York Mets catcher Jerry Grote is seen at spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Fla., in March 1977. Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champion, died Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Harry Harris, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 16, 1969 file photo, New York Mets catcher Jerry Grote, right, embraces pitcher Jerry Koosman as Ed Charles, left, joins the celebration after the Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the Game 5 to win the baseball World Series at New York's Shea Stadium. Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champion, died Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo, File)
Rudy Gobert made some history. Victor Wembanyama nearly did.
Gobert, the Minnesota center, was announced Tuesday as the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year for a record-tying fourth time — joining Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.
It was the fifth time in the last 11 seasons that a French center won defensive player of the year — and it sure seems like Wembanyama will add to that country's total before long. The San Antonio rookie center, announced Monday as the league's Rookie of the Year, was second in the voting and fell one spot short of being the first player to win the DPOY trophy in Year 1 of his NBA career.
Viva la France, indeed. Joakim Noah became the first Frenchman to win DPOY when he was the overwhelming choice in 2014, and Gobert now has the trophies for 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024.
“It’s great teamwork,” Gobert, the best defender on a Timberwolves team that had the best defense in the NBA this season, said on TNT during the award’s announcement. “We love to get individual awards and all these things, and it’s great but you can’t do it alone.”
It's the ninth time in Gobert's 11 seasons that he has been seventh or better in the DPOY voting. He was second in 2017, third in 2020 and 2022, fifth in 2015 and seventh in 2016 — and picked up this trophy one day after missing a playoff game for the birth of his son, Romeo.
“A lot of blessings,” Gobert said. “Just really grateful.”
Miami center Bam Adebayo was third, his best-ever finish in the voting. He was fourth in 2021 and 2022, along with fifth in 2020 and 2023.
Adebayo — an Olympic gold medalist from 2021 and part of the team that USA Basketball has picked to play in the Paris Games this summer — is the only player to have been in the top five of the DPOY balloting in each of the last five years. He's gotten at least one first-place vote in all five of those seasons, the only player in the NBA who can say that.
Gobert was second in rebounds per game and sixth in blocked shots per game — a category where Wembanyama led the league. The Timberwolves led the NBA this season in fewest points allowed per game. They also held opponents to the lowest field-goal percentage.
“This year, training camp, we came Day 1 and said we wanted to be a top defense in this league,” Gobert said. “Every guy has bought in. Everyone has put in the work every single day, and now we’re here with one goal in mind, to try to get this championship.”
Gobert's win adds to an awards haul this year for the Timberwolves, who are having their best season in 20 years. Minnesota hadn't won a playoff series since 2004 before knocking off Phoenix in Round 1, and now has a 2-0 lead — both wins on the road — over defending NBA champion Denver in the Western Conference semifinals.
“Great things take time,” Gobert said. “You guys all know winning is not something that happens overnight. You need to overcome adversity, you need to go through some ups and downs as a group.”
Other major Timberwolves award finishes this spring saw Naz Reid winning Sixth Man of the Year,Mike Conley winning the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, Chris Finch finishing third in the Coach of the Year voting (won by Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault ), Tim Connelly placing third in the Executive of the Year race (won by Boston's Brad Stevens ) and Anthony Edwards finishing eighth in the Clutch Player of the Year balloting (won by Golden State's Stephen Curry ).
The winner of the NBA's top individual award will be announced Wednesday.
Three international players — Denver's Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas' Luka Doncic — are the finalists for MVP. Jokic is seeking what would be his third MVP award in the last four seasons, while Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are aiming to win the trophy for the first time.
Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, last season's MVP, was not eligible this year because of the league's new policy requiring players to appear in a certain number of games before being considered for most awards.
Other NBA honors yet to be announced are the All-Defensive, All-Rookie and All-NBA teams — which won't be revealed before next week — and the Social Justice Award winner, which will be announced Thursday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, center left, defends during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Monday, April 29, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Phoenix Suns forward Josh Okogie (2) dunks against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Phoenix. The Timberwolves won 122-116, taking the series 4-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, left, goes up to block a shot by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, as Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) looks on in the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, is congratulated by center Rudy Gobert as time runs out in the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
