Jacob deGrom spoke to reporters at Port St. Lucie on Wednesday as he arrived at Spring Training.
Coming off consecutive NL Cy Young Awards, the expectations are, obviously, very high for him going forward and while winning a third one is “definitely” a goal of his, there’s something else that he’s prioritizing more than that.
“Most importantly, it’s a team game and I want to win a World Series, but any time you are at your personal best you help your team,” deGrom said (SNY).
Obviously, that’s something almost every player comes into camp saying with most teams in baseball still hopeful having not faced anyone yet.
That being said, for deGrom, it probably is a little more personal than that given he’s one of only six players currently on the roster that was a part of the 2015 World Series team that lost to the Kansas City Royals in five games.
Since then, the Mets have only appeared in one playoff game (2016 NL Wild Card Game) that deGrom was not even active for after seeing his season cut short by injury in September of that season (ulnar nerve surgery).
During Mets pitchers and catchers’ first official workout, Jacob deGrom is throwing a bullpen session right now.
Among those watching: Fred Wilpon, Brodie Van Wagenen, Omar Minaya, Luis Rojas and Jeremy Hefner. pic.twitter.com/B1F0nvPiNF
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) February 12, 2020
DeGrom, now 31, was having a very good postseason in 2015 until his one World Series start in Game 2.
The right-hander struggled to get through five innings that night and allowed four runs in what would result in the Mets losing by a score of 7-1. He never got another World Series start as the team lost in five games.
Well, it appears that is something he is working to get another crack at so he can help finish the job the Mets started in 2015.
Over the last two seasons, deGrom has a 2.05 ERA, 2.32 FIP, and 0.941 WHIP with 11.2 K/9 as compared to 1.9 BB/9. If he pitches like that again, he’d certainly be doing his part in helping the Mets get to the playoffs.
