to win the National League Eastern Division pennant. They then proceeded to defeat the heavily favored Cincinnati Reds in the 1973 National League Championship Series. In the World Series, the Mets took the Oakland Athletics to the seventh and final game, before they were defeated. As he had in 1969, Grote caught every inning of every post-season game for the Mets in . Looking back on his two pennant-winning seasons with the Mets, Grote said, "It (the 1969 season) was no miracle. Now, '73 was a miracle." In , Grote was batting .287 with four home runs and 27 runs batted in to earn his second All-Star selection, however, injuries were beginning to take their toll and he split the catching duties with Duffy Dyer. Grote rebounded in 1975, posting a career-high .295 batting average in 119 games and led all National League catchers with a .995 fielding percentage. At Veterans Stadium on July 4, 1975, Grote stepped in as a pinch hitter against longtime teammate Tug McGraw, who had been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during the off-season. With the Mets down 3–2, Grote connected for a game-winning two-run home run. In August, after 12 seasons with the Mets, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later. Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals Shortly after joining the Dodgers, Grote struck out in his only career at-bat against former battery-mate Tom Seaver, who was now with the Reds. During his two seasons with the Dodgers, he played part-time as a backup to Steve Yeager and appeared in two World Series against the New York Yankees. He retired from professional baseball after the season, only to be lured out of retirement in 1981 by the Kansas City Royals, who were experiencing a shortage of catchers. On June 3, , at the age of 38, Grote went 3 for 4 with a grand slam home run, a double, and a stolen base, driving in a team-record seven runs. After another short stint with the Dodgers, he retired for good after the season. Career statistics In a 16-year major league career, Grote played in 1,421 games, accumulating 1,092 hits in 4,339 at bats for a .252 career batting average along with 39 home runs and 404 runs batted in. He ended his career with a .991 fielding percentage, which at the time of his retirement