And the worst trade in NY Mets history is trading Nolan Ryan to the Angels for washed up 3rd baseman Jim Fregosi. When Nolan pitched for the Mets and Jerry Grote was the catcher it was an all Texas battery.
Jerry Grote was an exceptional backup catcher!
Disagree. Nolan couldn't handle playing in New York and was thinking of retiring. When he told Gil Hodges that, Gil immediately requested he be traded.
If Nolan stayed in New York he never would have been the pitcher he became and would be long forgotten by now.
The Mets at the time really needed offense, so the Jim Fregosi trade would have been a good deal except for the unfortunate (and all too common in Mets history) freak injury which essentially ended his career.
Jerry Grote came to my school, for a banquet, in 1970. He was absolutely the biggest jerk I had ever met, in my 12 years, on the planet. They teamed him up with relief pitcher, Ron Taylor (later to become a doctor), who couldn’t have been nicer, to us kids. Before signing an autograph, he asked every kid his name, asked him about his favorite subject in school, and then signed “To my pal, Tom (etc.), your buddy, Ron Taylor”. Grote signed in an illegible scrawl, and any kid that dared speak to him was greeted with a nasty scowl. I hope he reads this, too.