It isn't that often that someone comes up to me to say, "Howard, it's a great time to be a Mets fan." In fact, I can probably use one hand to count the number of times that has happened in my 50 years as a Mets fan and I wouldn't have to use all five fingers.
But it is a great time to be a New York Mets fan right now.
The Mets have put together a good roster that includes one of the best starting rotations in Major League Baseball, an improved bullpen and a lineup that, despite injuries to numerous regulars, has been able to do enough to contribute to wins.
Then there's the Jacob deGrom story.
deGrom has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the start of the 2018 season. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2018 and 2019, but he's at an even more dominating level this season and it is must-watch television.
We all love prodigious home runs and we love offense, but when a pitcher is this special at his trade, it really is a joy to behold. You just don't miss a deGrom start if you're a Mets fan. If you can't watch it live, you record the game so you can go back and see his latest masterful performance.
deGrom is so much fun to watch that I find myself hoping the Mets bat quickly in their half of the inning (and score quickly) so deGrom can get back on the mound and show off his stuff.
The 32-year-old has the ability to throw any of three pitches at any time in the count to any hitter, and has outstanding control. His fastball comes in multiple times every game at 100 miles-per-hour. In fact, he still hit triple digits on the radar gun in their sixth and seventh innings. Going into his most recent start against the San Diego Padres, deGrom had 121 pitches of at least 100 mph this season. No other pitcher in the majors had more than 10.
His slider has so much movement that opposing hitters regularly bail out on swings and misses, and the changeup completely baffles them.
deGrom became the fastest pitcher to reach 100 strike outs (he did it in 61.2 innings) since 1893 when the mound was moved to its current distance of 60 feet and six inches from home plate.
With some pitchers, batters are able to adjust and would do better the second and third time they see them in a game. With deGrom, it gets even harder to face him as the game goes on. That is due, in large part, to that ability to make any one of three pitches work effectively so hitters can't get timing down or identify a pattern.
The first time thru the order, opponents are hitting .158. It drops to .139 the second time batters face deGrom, and then it plummets to .049 for the third at bat in a deGrom start. It's almost as if the will of the hitters is broken when they face him and keep going back to the dugout unsuccessful in their attempt to solve him.
Let me tell you the story about what happened in his last two starts, both of which came against the Padres.
On June 5 in San Diego, deGrom held the Padres scoreless for seven innings, gave up three hits, struck out 11 and walked one. He relied more on his fastball that night, and a very good Padres team couldn't figure him out.
Six days later, he faced the same team again at Citi Field. deGrom adjusted and went with more sliders and changeups. This time, he registered six scoreless innings, gave up just one hit and had 10 strikeouts with no walks.
The Padres are one of the hardest teams to strike out in the MLB, but deGrom got them 21 times in 13 innings.
His earned run average is an unbelievable 0.56, which is the lowest for any pitcher through his first 10 starts of a season in MLB history. He has not given up more than one earned run in any of those 10 starts, which is the longest streak in the majors since 1968. That alone is why chants of "M-V-P" are constantly heard at Citi Field whenever deGrom pitches.
However, deGrom has been helping his own cause too with his hitting. He has 10 hits this season, and, in what is, the craziest of all the deGrom stats is he has more runs batted-in (five) than earned runs given up (four).
The greatest pitcher, not only that but the greatest player, in Mets history is the late Tom Seaver. Watching deGrom brings me back to the days of watching Seaver. If you were lucky enough to get tickets to see him pitch in person, you'd be anxiously awaiting game day. If you couldn't be there, you'd make sure to catch it on television, because it was like admiring a great work of art.
Do yourself a favor and find a way to watch deGrom pitch. It will be well worth your time.
