My friends the Mets sent me over a press release like they always do, so I wanted to share it with you.
This is a very good day. deGrom is good, cool, and homegrown. Exactly what this franchise should build around. Plus he told Mickey Hodges to buzz off when he tried to take him out during the Last Good Baseball Game Ever Played last summer (the fast paced low scoring one).
Conspiracists might wonder if CAA has somehow infiltrated the Mets and are tricking the Wilpons into paying its clients, but if that conspiracy is real (and of course it isn’t. A former agent hooking up his old clients? That’s crazy talk.) – if it is real, it’s my kind of conspiracy.
I’m more worried that the millennials are now using phrases like “opponent’s OPS” – what has the world come to.
“This is a tremendous day for Jacob, his family, our fans and the entire Mets organization,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said. “Last year, Jacob had one of the most remarkable seasons in baseball history and we are excited to be able to reward him. Mets fans can celebrate knowing their ace will remain in Flushing.”
Last season, deGrom joined Tom Seaver (1969, 1973 and 1975), Dwight Gooden (1985) and R.A. Dickey (2012) as the only pitchers in team history to win the NL Cy Young Award.
“Jacob has proven that he is one of the best pitchers in baseball and we are excited that he is part of the short-term and long-term future of this organization,” Executive Vice President & General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen said. “I’d like to thank Jacob and his agents as well as Jeff and the entire ownership group for coming together to make this happen. We look forward to seeing him in the blue and orange for many more years to come.”
The right-hander led the majors last season in ERA (1.70), opponent’s slugging (.277), opponent’s OPS (.521) and home runs per nine innings (0.41). He finished second in the majors in innings (217.0) and fourth in the majors with a career-high 269 strikeouts. DeGrom ended the year holding opponents to three runs or fewer in 29 straight starts, the longest single-season streak in major league history (min. 50.0 combined innings in those starts) and hurled 24 consecutive quality starts to end the season, the longest single-season streak in major league history.
DeGrom was named to his second All-Star team in 2018 (also 2015) and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was just the 10th time since 1920 that a pitcher had at least 200.0 innings and an ERA of 1.70 or lower in a season. He’s the only pitcher in modern MLB history (since 1900) to have a season with a sub-2.00 ERA, at least 260 strikeouts, 50 or fewer walks and 10 or fewer home runs allowed.
In 2014 deGrom took home Rookie of Year honors after posting a 9-6 record with a 2.69 ERA (42 earned runs/1401. Innings) with 43 walks and 144 strikeouts.
The DeLand, FL native owns a 55-41 career record with a 2.67 ERA (266 earned runs/897.2 innings) with 222 walks and 1,000 strikeouts. He was originally drafted by the Mets in the ninth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of Stetson University.
