What can anyone say about Jacob deGrom that we haven’t read or heard a thousand times already? Shall I tell you that he’s a grinder who pitches fearlessly no matter who’s digging in at the plate? Shades of Bob Gibson and Pedro Martinez. Fearless.
Or that he’s always thinking and making adjustments as the game goes on and that the deGrom who finishes the game is better than the deGrom who started the game? Shades of Greg Maddux, Jim Palmer and Catfish Hunter. A pitcher’s pitcher.
If you’ve watched this game long enough, gleaning as much historical data and baseball knowledge as one can amass over 40 years, you know when you’re witnessing something special. It starts to take root almost instantly. Your baseball senses start tingling and your baseball acumen throttles into high gear. That’s how I’ve felt from the moment I saw Jacob deGrom make his major league debut. He’s been a marvel to watch, and I get just as amped up for one of his starts as I do for Harvey Day.
As if last season wasn’t impressive enough, deGrom’s second act is shaping up to be something even more epic and historic than any of us could have imagined.
Since allowing a first inning two-run homer to the Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman in his first start of the season, deGrom has reeled off an incredible 18.1 scoreless innings. Unless you can grasp the enormity and rarity of such a feat, you can’t truly understand and appreciate what a grand accomplishment this really is.
Last night against the Marlins, our young righty delivered another gutsy and gritty performance, tossing seven scoreless innings, scattering six hits, while walking none and striking out eight. Another typical Jacob deGrom start that we’re all becoming very accustomed to. This guy is money. Kind of like Jerry Koosman used to be.
It feels as though after years and years of suffering through some very bad baseball in Flushing, those crazy gods are finally shining their light down upon us. How else can you explain having a deGrom and a Matt Harvey in the same rotation with even more special arms still to come?
This must be our time. It has to be. Can’t you feel it too? Or are you one of those guarding your heart with cautious optimism even though your baseball senses are screaming to you that this is it. That this is real. That this is what you’ve been patiently waiting for all these years, and as the saying goes, now you’re being rewarded. Go ahead and take the plunge, the water’s fine.
So after another outing that required a lot of grinding, deGrom lowers his ERA to 0.93 on the season, the second best mark in the National League.
“That was the best I’ve felt all season,” he told reporters after the game.
I said that deGrom had shades of Gibson and Pedro to him, and after listening to Michael Cuddyer talk about him it’s very justified and not just some irrational exuberance on my part.
“His mound presence, the way he carries himself, he’s not scared of any hitter or any situation,” Cuddyer said. “No moments are too big for him, and no hitter is too big.”
I’m simply amazed with how this season is unfolding. Our starting pitchers have burst out of the gate, our young core players like Travis d’Arnaud, Juan Lagares and Wilmer Flores continue to improve and develop, and the veteran leadership is stepping up on the field and in the clubhouse… Hell yeah, I’m super excited.
I said last week, you bet your ass I believe in this team, and those were not hollow words. One thing you should know about me is that say what I mean and I mean what I say.
I really love this team. I love their makeup. I love the fact we lost Edgin, Wheeler, Mejia, and most recently Wright, and that the team just keeps coming at you like nothing’s happened. I see them fighting and clawing their way to one victory after another despite being behind in all but two of their wins. And then there’s that confidence and swagger… I’ve been waiting 15 years to see that again.
I’m having a blast and I hope all of you are too. So let’s get ready for Matt Harvey to take the mound in a couple of hours and watch our team complete a sweep of the Marlins. Enjoy the game and Let’s Go Mets.
