Memories of Jacob deGrom

[Gwreck]

As amazing as the 2018 season was, his absolute dominance in 2021 was like nothing I've ever seen.



He had more hits (as a batter) than earned runs allowed.

[Frayed Knot]

So I went to bed early on Friday night.

Did i miss something?

[Lefty Specialist]

I'm betting the Mets let him know they weren't going to 5 years. The Rangers are idiots, but they're obviously trying to make a splash. They'll regret this most of the way.



This at least clarifies issues for Eppler/Uncle Steve, and they can get to work.



Best memory: Striking out the first 8 batters of the game. Like a man pitching against boys.

Edited December 3, 2022 by Guest

[Frayed Knot]

So Hey Man! says that the Mets were offering 3 x $40 but that they never offered/were given the chance to match or top the 5 x $37 that JdG wound up with from Texas.

There's also reportedly a 6th year option (and those usually come with a buyout) so it's probably more like 5 x $38-40 (depending on the size of the buyout) or 6 x $37 (a good thing for the Rangers if it happens).



Hate to see him go but that's a big pill to swallow given age and recent (lack of) availability. And, as I've said here often about these deals, there always needs to be a cost at which you're willing to walk away. Reasonable folks can disagree over where that point is, but believing that there isn't one is a bad path to take.



I can definitely make the argument that bowing out was the smart move. Or I can take the stance that, given his relative lack of IPs at his age and that, despite the injuries, there's no one chronic condition acting as a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, that maybe the last two seasons were the outliers and the mostly healthy seasons before that represent the norm.



As Hey Man! also adds: 'Even the mistakes are bigger in Texas' [see: Rod, A.]

[MFS62]

I remember the ups of watching him pitch and the downs of him not being able to pitch. But remembering those times when he couldn't pitch softens this blow.

But that lack of run support - the fact that he didn't lose it in the clubhouse and start breaking furniture or teammates is a testimony to how much of a gentleman he was.

Later

[smg58]

I remember looking at his minor league stats, thinking they reminded me of Bobby Parnell's and deciding that he might be a decent reliever for a few years. But a couple of starts in it was clear he was more than that. And while Harvey, Thor, and Wheeler kept getting more attention, he quietly became the best pitcher on the team. And then he quietly became the best pitcher in the league, despite being held back by hitting/bullpen support that was criminally negligent. But dialing it up on the radar gun the way that he did should have raised more red flags. We were all too blown away by the stat line to consider it might come at a cost. He tried to fix what very clearly wasn't broken, and then it broke. And now the Rangers are paying him as if that didn't happen.

[nymr83]

=Fman99 post_id=113741 time=1670038529 user_id=86]
It was a privilege to watch him pitch in a Mets uniform. I hope he goes 0-32 for the next five years though.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

The Heyman column reminds me of the kind of stories we'd see in the Wilpon era after a player left. Downplaying his accomplishments, calling him “sullen.”

[Edgy MD]

I remember the second of a pair of consecutive highly ineffective starts in the midst of a Cy Young season came in Texas, and he was visibly crying after exiting the game.



I also remember how mockably fugly the new Rangers stadium is.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: I also remember how mockably fugly the new Rangers stadium is.

So is their Senator.

Later

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I'll never forget his dynamic role as a spokesman for Ford of Queens. Where Queens goes.

[G-Fafif]

Judging by the reaction every time his name was invoked at today's Queens Baseball Convention, Jacob deGrom does not have much of an answer for Janet Jackson's query, "What have you done for me lately?"

[Frayed Knot]

Judging by the reaction every time his name was invoked at today's Queens Baseball Convention, Jacob deGrom does not have much of an answer for Janet Jackson's query, "What have you done for me lately?"

Appearing in just 11 of the NYM's last 241 regular season games will tend to have that kind of effect on folks.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[deGrom's] very much a DeLand, Fla., guy. Folks around the team say this came out in the pandemic when he openly talked against northern rules and masks and vaccinations, even though it meant extra precautions and greater risk to the team (he wasn't alone there, as the Mets were one of the least vaccinated teams).

https://nypost.com/2022/12/02/jacob-degrom-deal-shows-even-the-mistakes-are-bigger-in-texas/https://nypost.com/2022/12/02/jacob-degrom-deal-shows-even-the-mistakes-are-bigger-in-texas/



Now I'm practically certain he voted for Trump. Twice. Now I'm wondering if he's flying a Confederate flag inside his home. Northern rules? Did his great-great grandfather own a cotton plantation?



And on another note, with deGrom now gone, if the Mets don't sign free agents Seth Lugo or Dom Smith, Tomas Nido will be the longest tenured active Met.

[metirish]

I am not sensing #MetTwitter meltdown over the last few days like I expected. A lot of wow that's crazy money/ years, see ya....I think many were not surprised at all...was Jake a beloved Mets player?

[The Hot Corner]

When he was healthy, he was the best in the game. He wasn't healthy very much the past few years. I could be wrong, but I don't expect his durability and reliability to improve as he ages.



I believe the Rangers over paid. Not necessarily in $/season, but is total duration of the contract.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

He's gonna have a great 1st year with texas

[smg58]

=metirish post_id=113834 time=1670158379 user_id=72]
I am not sensing #MetTwitter meltdown over the last few days like I expected. A lot of wow that's crazy money/ years, see ya....I think many were not surprised at all...was Jake a beloved Mets player?

Edited December 4, 2022 by Guest

[metirish]

=smg58 post_id=113841 time=1670171298 user_id=62]
=metirish post_id=113834 time=1670158379 user_id=72]
I am not sensing #MetTwitter meltdown over the last few days like I expected. A lot of wow that's crazy money/ years, see ya....I think many were not surprised at all...was Jake a beloved Mets player?

[MFS62]

When I woke up this morning I realized I didn't feel as bad for him leaving as I thought I would.

The team won 101 games last year and he only started 11 (and won 5) of them.

I wish him well (just not against the Mets) and hope the team will sign pitchers who can contribute more than that.



Later

[kcmets]

[Edgy MD]

Like Seaver, deGrom seemed to be a thoughtful, mature figure when representing the brand, but also like Seaver, he seemed to have a professional aloofness that kept him from pouring himself into the role, so he never quite seized the Face of the Franchise role that was his for the taking since the day Wright played his last game.



It kind of seems that Francisco Lindor's comfort in and willingness to take on that role — even during his crappy first half to his first season — was a big part of what the Mets were bargaining for when they traded for him and signed him for a decade.



Maybe it's Alonso's team going forward, but he's possibly going to have to punch his way past Lindor.

[Lefty Specialist]

=MFS62 post_id=113849 time=1670176734 user_id=60]
When I woke up this morning I realized I didn't feel as bad for him leaving as I thought I would.

The team won 101 games last year and he only started 11 (and won 5) of them.

I wish him well (just not against the Mets) and hope the team will sign pitchers who can contribute more than that.



Later

[Frayed Knot]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: He's gonna have a great 1st year with texas

And quite possibly a great first coupla years.

Probably not five, but more than one would be my guess.

[metsmarathon]

i'm rooting like hell for degrom to earn every single penny of the texas contract. but also, fuck, i'm glad the mets aren't the ones to be paying him. i'da been real worried about a 4-year deal. i would have wanted my team to give it to him, but five? yikes. it hurts, but i'm ok.



memories... memories... i mean, the dude was the best pitcher i've ever seen. only peak pedro gives him a run. i don't know how he hasn't thrown a perfecto or three yet. (other than that his control is simply too good that eventually someone's gonna get a barrel on a strike if only by accident)

[The Hot Corner]

Dansby Swanson didn't have too much trouble putting the barrel on the ball once or twice against DeGrom. Apparently the secret is to be a good hitter in the first place and simply wait for him to try going more than 5 innings.

[RealityChuck]

I most remember seeing him pitch in Chicago.



I hadn't been to a Mets game in over 30 years. But when I visited my daughter, I realized the Mets were in town. I had three choices to watch pitch and I chose DeGrom.



Not a good game for him -- he gave up four runs in five innings, but the Mets tied it and he got no decision. He had a play at the plate reversed (probably correctly; I was surprised when the called the runner out), then gave up a two-run homer (perhaps shaken by losing the call). The Mets lost, with Vic Black the losing pitcher and Jenrry Mejia gave up two runs when he should have kept the thing close.

[Centerfield]

I've had some time to process this. Also the signing of Verlander helps lessen the sting.



Still. I'd like for Jake's arm to fall off during his first year in Texas.



And if he gets some sort of STD that's cool too.

[kcmets]

I guess the biggest memory is how he got no run support while

pitching gem after gem. Gentlemanly, every post-game.



On the flip side, I wouldn't be surprised if Jake didn't rush back

from some of the mystery ailments thinking, 'I ain't blowing my

arm out for this team' and knew he'd cash in big in a more comfy

place. Conspiracy theory here, conspiracy theory there...

[batmagadanleadoff]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=113828 time=1670132757 user_id=68]
And on another note, with deGrom now gone, if the Mets don't sign free agents Seth Lugo or Dom Smith, Tomas Nido will be the longest tenured active Met.