Grote continued to provide the Mets with good defense, leading National League catchers in and in putouts and in range factor [REF].
By the 1977 season, John Stearns had taken over as the Mets' starting catcher as back injuries continued to plague Grote and in August, after twelve seasons with the Mets, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later [REF].