Kranepool, a left-handed hitting first baseman who was a member of the Mets’ first two World Series teams ... I can’t believe he is gone.” Fellow 1969 champion Art Shamsky said he was ...

Jerry Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champions, died April 7 at a medical facility in Austin. He was 81. Mr.