Loving deGrom Even After He Left

Jacob deGrom has generally spoken very positively and emotionally about his nine years with the New York Mets, even after leaving for the Texas Rangers in free agency after the 2022 season. He says all the right things.

deGrom has displayed:

• Gratitude to the Mets organization for drafting and developing him
• Appreciation for Mets fans and New York
• Pride in helping lead the Mets to the 2015 National League pennant
• Frustration with the narrative that he “couldn’t wait to leave”
• Emphasis that leaving was a difficult baseball/business decision, not hatred of New York

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When he returned to face the Mets in 2024, deGrom said “I’m forever thankful for the Mets organization.” He added that he “definitely enjoyed” his nine seasons in New York and always tried to “leave it all out on the field” every fifth day.

After signing with Texas in December 2022, deGrom also took out a full-page thank-you ad addressed to Mets fans. In it, he wrote that the Mets and New York would “always hold a very special place in our hearts.”

At his Rangers introductory press conference, he said leaving the Mets “was not an easy decision.” He also pushed back strongly against the idea that he simply wanted to escape New York. In 2023, he said the narrative that he “wanted to leave the Mets” was “not true.”

It’s also well-known that deGrom prefers a low-key life enjoying fishing and hunting in his home state of Florida away from the bright lights. He never really seemed connected to New York City while playing for the Mets. That’s fine. Not all people dig the city vibe.

deGrom is happier not being in New York

I mean this sincerely as a Met fan and HUGE fan of Jacob deGrom, (which I remain today), I don’t think Jacob deGrom regrets not being a Met for one minute.

His Mets legacy is enormous:

• 2014 NL Rookie of the Year
• Two NL Cy Young Awards (2018, 2019)
• Four All-Star selections with the Mets
• Key ace on the 2015 pennant-winning club
• One of the most dominant pitching peaks in modern MLB history

When deGrom left the Mets, most Met fans hoped he would continue his excellence (in the American League thank you), and pitch well enough to be elected to the Hall-of-Fame one day wearing a Mets cap. Ok, maybe not most fans but most Met fans and this Met fan! Then again, I am not certain that if DeGrom were to be voted into the HOF, that he’d wear a Mets cap. To me, it feels, and has always felt, that DeGrom is aloof when it comes to New York and the Mets. He has some good reasons.

Even though deGrom won NL Rookie of the Year, he came up with the Mets at age 26 two years after Matt “the Black Knight” Harvey burst upon the scene. Met fans LOOOVED Matt Harvey and deGrom was another excellent young (ish) pitcher on the staff as rookie Noah Syndergaard joined the staff in the team’s World Series run in 2015. Yet in 2015, deGrom had a better season than either Harvey or Syndergaard and was brilliant in the playoffs before faltering in game two of the World Series. It shocks me that Chris Young (now GM for the Rangers), started game one of the 2015 World Series for the Mets.

DeGrom posted a decent 2016 season before beginning his ascension to being one of the best starting pitchers in MLB history beginning in 2017. While he finally was getting well-deserved accolades from the press and Met fans, the Met hitters seemed to be out of the loop as deGrom received some of the worst offensive support a star pitcher could ever receive. Game after game the Mets would score zero, or one run for deGrom, two on a good night. If deGrom didn’t throw a shutout his chances of leading the Mets to victory were compromised.

deGrom’s injuries paved the way for his exit from the Mets

After winning back-to-back NL Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019, deGrom finished third in the Cy Young voting (to Trevor Bauer, then on the Reds), for the Covid-19 season of 2020. Arm and elbow problems over the next two seasons limited deGrom to a total of 26 starts.

After the 2022 season, and with deGrom at age 34, the Mets did not feel comfortable giving him what the Texas Rangers ponied up — $185 million for five years with an option for a sixth at $37 million in 2028, a season when deGrom will be 40 years old. As much as I understood (as did most Met fans), paying deGrom that kind of money seemed overly risky, I was sad (still am a little), when his signing in Texas was announced.

Many Mets fans view him as one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history alongside HOFer Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden, and this is despite the somewhat painful ending to his tenure. That same thing could be said about both Seaver and Gooden.

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I have nothing but admiration for Jacob deGrom but it bothers me (and fans in NYC-based teams in general if I may project a little here), when players don’t love playing and being part of the Big Apple scene as much as do the people and fans that live there.

It always appeared to me that Jacob deGrom could take or leave New York and when the time came, he left. I wished he’d have loved us as much as we Met fans loved him. He might still be a Met. And they could use him right about now.

About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com.