3 NY Mets trades that continued the Midnight Massacre purge months later

The words “Midnight Massacre” conjures up an ill feeling in New York Mets fans who know immediately what the term represents. The team famously traded the franchise’s greatest icon Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds in a heartbreaking move that fans could never forgive.

It was hardly the end of the dismantling of the roster. Three more trades months later would continue what was started on June 15, 1977. Although each wasn’t as impactful on the field, all three trades (involving four fan favorites) completed the dismantling of who best represented the Mets of the 1970s and even the 1969 championship club.

1) Jerry Grote to the Los Angeles Dodgers

The first to go was Jerry Grote on August 31, 1977. The longtime catcher who played 1235 games for the Mets was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers. A more irregular player at the time with regular catcher duties now belonging to John Stearns, his best days were behind him but that didn’t make the trade any easier to accept. He’d remain with the Dodgers through the 1978 season as a backup. He made it to back-to-back World Series, falling to the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Grote retired after the 1978 season but returned in 1981 to play for the Kansas City Royals for 22 games. He hit .304 at age 38 and several years in between his last games in the pros. He’d actually return to the Dodgers as a free agent before retiring. It should’ve been the Mets.

As much as fans would have liked Grote to finish his career with the Mets, we can at least appreciate how he was able to experience two more trips to the World Series. The Mets weren’t rewarded with much at all in the trade. Both players acquired for Grote failed to make it to the majors.