Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Jacob deGrom

deGOAT
January 25, 2019
The best pitcher the Mets have ever produced. When it's all said and done, he will be better than Seaver. Wheeler and Matz could never stay healthy, Harvey was an egotistical bum, and Syndergaard is all flash. But deGrom consistently brings his best to the hill every start. The Mets will regret it for a very long time if they can't negotiate an extension with him.

Jim Snedeker
April 5, 2019
Don't remember exactly when he cut his hair, but could there be a connections between that act helping him go from simply being great to a shoe-in for the HOF?

Alex
November 15, 2019
DeGrom came to the Mets with very little fanfare. We knew about Wheeler and Harvey and Syndergaard. Steven Matz even. They were all young, can't-miss phenoms who would be stars for years to come.

Along comes DeGrom, some 26-year-old no-name who had never been rated among the top prospects in the game and, the year before his debut, posted a 4.51 ERA in the minors.

I remember thinking, "Jacob who?" Yet, he kept pitching well and had a stunning -- Rookie of the Year winning -- initial campaign. Surely, he would be a one-year wonder ...

Or not. While Harvey fizzled and Syndergaard underachieved, while Wheeler and Matz settled in as a good-but-not-great innings-eaters, deGrom became the superstar.

His 2018 campaign was amazing: 269 strikeouts and a league-leading 1.70 ERA. a Cy Young season. Could it get any better? Yes. Two straight Cy Young Awards, his second on the back of 255 strikeouts, which paced the loop, and a 2.43 ERA.

deGrom has been a stalwart in these trying times, times when they seem to get so close to dominance, but continue to fall short. At least one man has stayed dominant through it all. The one we least expected: Jacob deGrom.

Metsfan
August 13, 2020
2nd best pitcher in Mets history. The Franchise 2.0. And like Seaver, it wasn't a lock either. The Mets won the lottery for Seaver, and deGrom fell to us in the 9th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. Every generation needs its great stories and players. My grandad had Seaver, and I have deGrom. :)

EJR
April 30, 2021
Jacob deGrom is the BEST pitcher in the Major Leagues and he's not getting any support on this site, just like the offense that has ALWAYS been lacking for him. I believe he'll be the first Met to throw a "real" no-hitter and the best is yet to come.

John L.
June 7, 2021
Enjoy what we are witnessing fellow Mets fans. Jacob is a talent that comes along perhaps once a generation.

kent
March 2, 2022
Wow, What a stiff. Just kidding. Hopefully he can stay healthy and lead us to the World Series with Mad Max this year. I find it puzzling that Met fans have more to say about Rich Hebner and Juan Samuel then they do about the greatest pitcher in franchise history. Only in New York lol

Alex
September 26, 2022
After his injury in 2021, I had a hunch deGrom was never going to be the pitcher he was prior to it. He just didn't profile as the sort of guy who could bounce back and resume an elite path—primarily because he was pitching much better than his age should have allowed and when the injury hit, he was already exiting what are typically a player's prime years. And beyond that, these guys who post astronomical strikeout ratios seem to tumble hard when the tumble begins.

Well, he surprised me upon his comeback this year, posting a 1.66 ERA through his first seven starts. But his past three indicate that all might not be well in deGromland, as he's posted a 6.60 ERA in that stretch. It's a small sample size, but considering all the factors, the tendrils of worry should be creeping into our peripherals at this point.

Johan Santana wasn't the same after his injury. Matt Harvey wasn't the same after missing a year. Pedro Martinez crumbled after his health issues. Unfortunately, and this might just be my Mets cynicism speaking, I think we might have to prepare ourselves for the painful demise of deGrom in the relatively near future, as well.

I hope I'm proven wrong.

Scoey
December 5, 2022
I used to give Jacob the nickname "Samson" because I wanted to think that he got his talent from the lengthy hair he sported at the start of his career. He proved me wrong about that when he continued to pitch well after getting a trim. I've just called him "Big Jake" ever since.

It's disappointing that deGrom had only four complete games among his 209 starts as a Mets pitcher. If he had just been allowed the opportunity to finish his games without a pitch count being applied or the phantom need for multiple relievers, he could have surpassed Tom Seaver's team record of 2,541 strikeouts. Jacob averaged 10.9 Ks per nine innings during his nine years in New York, while Seaver (with more than twice as many innings pitched as deGrom) had a 7.5 ratio as a Met. Over the missing innings of his 205 non-completions, deGrom would have needed four to five more strikeouts per game to achieve Seaver's mark. I like to believe this was within his reach. Jacob may or may not have been a better pitcher than Tom, but he was denied the chance for true comparison to Seaver due to his being removed after six or seven IPs constantly. It should never have been this way!

I'm sure that Jacob's success will continue with the Texas Rangers. I just hope his eventual Hall of Fame plaque shows him wearing a Mets cap.

alex
December 5, 2022
My memory of deGrom is when he left us. Traitor.

Richard Weinberg
February 20, 2023
Awesome pitcher, but only managed to win 84 games in 8 years. Left many games in the 7th or 8th innings ahead, only to have the bullpen blow the save. The problem with Jake was that he was strikeout happy, and burned up his pitch count after 6 or 7 innings. He never learned the art of getting guys out on 2-3 pitches, and this cost him. He became a Over Paid Drama Queen over the last 2-3 years, earning 30 millions dollars annually, and making about 10 starts. Somehow, he felt slighted, and bolted.

James Martinson
March 10, 2023
This is in response to the post from Scoey of December 5, 2022. There is little in the 12/5 post that I can agree with. If deGrom had been extended into more innings, his effectiveness would have most likely diminished due to fatigue. He also, most likely, would have had more injuries by pitching when he was tired. This Prima Donna was at his his best when he was safe and sound in the clubhouse after 6, lathering up in the shower, while leaving it up to others to get the tough outs in the last 3 innings. As regards to Seaver, for the 10 and one half years Tom Seaver was a Met, he took the ball every 5 days, and pitched his heart out, sometimes pitching through lots of discomfort. Who can forget him pitching through a Sciatica issue for most of 1974. Seaver was on the mound in the late innings, going through the lineup for the 4th time, and getting the tough outs. You can say the same thing for Jerry Koosman. No way you can compare deGrom to Seaver.