Sep
24
2012

Dickey Only One Win Away From Pitching’s Triple Crown!

An article by Joe D

In Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Marlins, R.A. Dickey delivered another spectacular performance for the Mets and improved his record to 19-6 while lowering his ERA to a league leading 2.66 for the season.

Dickey became the fifth pitcher in franchise history to win 19 games, throw 220 innings and strikeout 200 or more in a single season, joining the elite company of Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman and David Cone as the only other Mets pitchers ever to accomplish the feat.

Something that has been getting very little attention in what has been a magical season for Dickey, is the real possibility that he could win the National League’s Pitching Triple Crown.

The Mets undisputed ace already leads the league with a 2.66 ERA as mentioned previously. But in addition to that, he currently leads the NL in strikeouts with 206, and is only one victory behind Gio Gonzalez who has already reached the 20 win plateau. Winning Pitching’s Triple Crown is not impossible for Dickey, and with two more starts against the Pirates and the Marlins, he could get to 21 wins.

Dickey has owned the Marlins this season, going 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in five starts against them. The five wins against the Marlins are the most any one pitcher has ever had against them in a single season.

On Thursday, Mets Merized Online was privileged to do an Exclusive Interview with R.A. Dickey who met up with our own Michael Barrett at the MLB Fan Cave in NYC.

When the Mets prized knuckleballer was asked what would be the most satisfying between writing a NY Times best seller, winning a Cy Young, or a national title for Tennessee, Dickey did not hesitate, ”I would have to say the middle one. Definitely the Cy Young”.

Of course, the best exchanges in our exclusive with Dickey was this one:

MMO: What do you think your future is with the New York Mets?

Dickey: I would love to be back. I mean there is a part of me that believes that it is the right thing to do to stay loyal to the team that gave you your shot. At the same time, at the age that I am, I want to win. I don’t know how much longer I will be playing, hopefully that could be for five or six more years as a knuckleballer but you never know. I would like to know that the team is going in the right direction and I think we have some pieces that are really good so hopefully we will be able to work something out in the offseason, but I love New York and the fans and have had a great time being a Met.

Currently, R.A. Dickey is just one win away from becoming the team’s first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990. Winning 20 games would be an incredible achievement as would winning the Cy Young Award.

But winning the NL Pitching Triple Crown would be something more memorable that would certainly mark Dickey’s 2012 season as one for the ages.

About the Author: Joe DeCaro

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.

7 Comments + Add Comment

Alex68 September 24, 2012 at 8:19 am

Kershaw leads the league in K and has one more start. probably 2, also, while dickey leads the League in ERA, kershaw has a 2.68 ERA (0.02 behind Dickey) which is pretty close. i hope not, but one bad outing can turn from a probable triple crown winner, into just a good enough season.
I think he’ll win the Cy Young, but wouldn’t be shocked if somehow kershaw makes it a tight race. another thing, Mets have an option for him, so they’ll accept it, and once they do, they should trade this guy. get as much as you can while he’s a hot commodity.
TRS86 September 24, 2012 at 9:13 am

With the Nationals only having best NL record to play for it’s possible that Gio gets skipped to set up the playoff rotation. Also with Kershaw, not sure if it’s good or bad but I would expect his innings to be limited.
- srt September 24, 2012 at 9:16 am
  
  I too was wondering if Gio would wind up with one less start in the regular season than Dickey.
  
  Looked at Kershaw’s record yesterday. He pitched 5 innings with 1 ER, 5 hits, 5BBs and 5 strikeouts. I’m assuming he leads the league in strike outs now.
- Alex68 September 24, 2012 at 9:23 am
  
  Gio wil have one more starts.the manager is Davey Johnson, you should know better. i think
  Gio even though he’s won 20 games, he hasn’t been that dominant to a point you know. Plus, maybe it’s because is GIO not probably win it. if someone like Stephen strasburgh has those same numbers he has, he’d be a locked to win it due to the press he gets.
  - TRS86 September 24, 2012 at 9:29 am
    
    Know better than what? I expect also that he will only get one more start but even that the innings might be limited.
Met Fan Lou September 24, 2012 at 9:42 am

Our season is ending on a high note. R.A. going for 20 and David Wright nearing a Met record for hits. It is nice to know that no matter how bad this season has been we will have something positive to take into the off season. Our world series is R.A. going for 20. I just hope the players support him and score him some runs early. Won’t miss it on ML:B.TV for the world.
Lenny September 24, 2012 at 4:04 pm

Dickey has 19 wins this season, which is good for second in the NL. He then leads the league in innings pitched with 220, strikeouts with 209, a 2.66 ERA and 5 complete games. He is also second in WHIP at 1.04. Add to this that he has put up these numbers with little to no run support and you have a guy that should without a doubt win the Cy Young. Whether Dickey gets to that 20th win or not, there is no doubt in my mind that he should be the NL Cy Young winner. You can’t sit there and discredit those numbers just because his team is atrocious. Put him on a team with an offense and a bullpen and he probably has between 20 and 25 wins right now. It shouldn’t be a discussion; he should run away with the Cy Young. Espn says so LOL.

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