Barring a free fall off the proverbial cliff over the final three weeks of the 2020 season, Jacob deGrom has put himself in an excellent position to win his third consecutive Cy Young Award.

“I don’t think it would feel the same,” he had said of recognition in the time of a global pandemic, “but it’s definitely still a goal.”

Years — decades — from now, baseball aficionados won’t reflect on deGrom’s reign over the National League with hesitation, unsure of the legitimacy of dominance within the parameters of the 2020 season.

No, they’ll cherish his entire body of work. And as far as specific moments of greatness are concerned, they’ll point to days like Sunday.

deGrom bounced back from his first loss of the season to keep the Phillies’ bats largely quiet over seven innings in the Mets’ 14-1 win at Citi Field.

Andrew Knapp‘s solo home run in the second inning was the only blemish on a line that included 12 strikeouts alongside just three hits and two walks.

Such an outing has become commonplace for the Mets ace. But the true mark of domination that set Sunday’s performance apart were deGrom’s 35 swinging strikes, a career-high and tied for the most by any pitcher since 2008.

“(I) had good command of (my) fastball and slider, so I really worked off that,” he said.

deGrom, typically a three-pitch pitcher, relied nearly exclusively on his fastball and changeup, with the pair accounting for 88 percent of his 108 offerings. That’s up from 78.6 percent entering Sunday.

The recipe to success: “Seeing some of the swings I was getting on the sliders inside to lefties, and being able to locate the fastball where I needed to.” Simple, right?

deGrom fired fastballs on 19 of his first 22 pitches on the afternoon. No. 22 was promptly placed in the left field seats by Knapp. From that point on, 49 of his 86 pitches were sliders (57 percent).

deGrom’s career has progressed to the point where an outing like this one — rare across the rest of the league — is expected. It’s a once-in-a-couple of decades skill set that can easily be taken for granted.

Though plenty have come through Flushing and excelled over the past half-century, few have held deGrom’s stature. It’s a fitting thought exercise given the sobering news of Tom Seaver‘s passing last week.

deGrom might never quite reach Seaver’s plateau, but he’s on track to come pretty damn close.

“I think he’s going to be the all-time great here,” deGrom said. “You look at his numbers — complete games, I don’t think I’m ever reaching that.”

You’re forgiven, Jacob. The game has changed.

But elsewhere, the two appear as statistical peers. Seaver’s 2.57 Mets ERA is a literal tick ahead of deGrom’s. The former never topped 10 strikeouts per nine while the latter sits comfortably in double-digits.

“It’s an honor to be compared to somebody like Tom and what he was able to accomplish in his career. Obviously how he was appreciated here, how he treated the fans, everything. He’s somebody that I definitely looked up to.”

Any comparisons are simply unfair to both. If anything, it makes one appreciate the pitching talent that the Mets have pumped out as an organization.

The most exciting note: there are plenty more days like Sunday to come.