Memories of Jacob deGrom

[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]

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

Yeah, I'm happy that the Mets didn't try to blow anyone away here. I think deGrom will have some magic moments but it won't be enough in the end. If he makes 30 starts in any of those 5 years I'll be very surprised.

But they've got some gaping holes to fill in that starting staff.

[Frayed Knot]

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]

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.

(If Nimmo signs with some other team).

[batmagadanleadoff]

Did anybody catch deGrom's introductory Texas Rangers press conference yet? What a bunch of disingenuous horseshit. If he took the truth serum, he'd be honest and say that he signed with Texas because he didn't want to play for the Mets anymore no matter what. Instead, he wanted to play in the slavery belt and the Rangers gave him the best offer of any of the slavery state confederate flag waving baseball teams, which is where he wanted to be all along. He sez that the Rangers want to win a World Series and have a long term vision. That's why he signed with Texas. What a load. The Rangers want to win year in and year out. It would've been neat if any of those reporters asked deGrom if he thinks that the Mets don't want to win year in and year out but it was all softballs and then lame, barely believable answers from deGrom. Oh, and he sounded nervous, too. Nervous and evasive.

The irony is that if deGrom stays healthy and pitches like he's been pitching as of late, the Rangers will have the best chance of winning it all and it will be mainly thanks to deGrom, himself.

[The Hot Corner]

As in the vast majority of free-agent signings over the years, money is the predominant factor that determines where players sign. Most players will offer up all kinds of superficial and disingenuous reasons for accepting the offer that they chose to sign, but in the end, I believe it almost always comes down to the team that was willing to pay the most money for their services. Very few free agents are honest enough to come out and admit that they simply took the best financial package available to them.

DeGrom is no different than most free agents that have gone before him. He simply signed with the team that that offered the most money to obtain his services.

[batmagadanleadoff]

As in the vast majority of free-agent signings over the years, money is the predominant factor that determines where players sign. Most players will offer up all kinds of superficial and disingenuous reasons for accepting the offer that they chose to sign, but in the end, I believe it almost always comes down to the team that was willing to pay the most money for their services. Very few free agents are honest enough to come out and admit that they simply took the best financial package available to them.

DeGrom is no different than most free agents that have gone before him. He simply signed with the team that that offered the most money to obtain his services.

Agree. Still, I'd like to know why deGrom didn't give the Mets a chance to counter the Rangers' offer. Did the Mets make it clear that they weren't willing to match or to even come close to the Rangers' offer? Because I figure that ordinarily, the Mets had that courtesy coming as the only team deGrom ever played for and there being no animosity between team and player, as far as I know.

Was deGrom worried that the Mets would top the Texas offer?

[The Hot Corner]

I can only guess that in the dialogue between the Mets and DeGrom, the Mets were proposing a contract length that was much less than the 5 year deal offered by the Rangers. Most analyst and "talking heads" I have seen discussing DeGrom's deal with Texas seemed very surprised at the 5 year term. It appears that most of the industry, expected a higher per annum salary on a 3 year term. Going into the offseason, I personally was thinking along the lines of Scherzer's (or Verlander's eventual deal) for DeGrom.

It is not necessarily the annual salaries that are surprising to me, but the length of some of the deals have been longer than I would have expected. Many of the contracts being signed (Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Aaron Judge, Jacob DeGrom and Brandon Nimmo) are of longer length than I would have anticipated going into the offseason.

[Fman99]

Yeah he's full of shit. This is just 2022's Mike Hampton and his undying love of the Colorado school system.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

How soon do you reissue #48?

[roger_that]

How soon do you reissue #48?

I'd offer it to Senga, since he can't get #41.

[Frayed Knot]

How soon do you reissue #48?

I'd have no problem doing so but, given their standards of number retirement lately:
- less than 1/2 a career as a NYM (Keith, Willie)
- barely 1/2 plus no championship association (Piazza)
- reaching back decades to pick out a candidate no one really talked about during the intervening time (Kooz)
- a quasi-retirement for a five-year/quarter-career NYM player (Carter)
is there any chance they Don't opt to keep out of circulation and then eventually retire JdG's number?

He spent (parts of) nine seasons here and is often described as be the closest thing to Seaver. And GTS actively bitched his
way off the club, something we (with not a lot of proof) are accusing deGrom of doing only in a more passive manner.

[Benjamin Grimm]

They could keep 48 in circulation and retire it later, like they did with 17 and 36.

[Frayed Knot]

A move which smacks of: 'Yeah, we didn't think it was worthy of retirement back when they left/retired but do now because we get to make a nostalgia/event day out of it'.

[batmagadanleadoff]

If Gary Carter's number is in mothballs, then deGrom deserves to have a statue and Citi Field renamed after him.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I was just thinking of appearances. Like how long after your spouse dies are you allowed to be seen out on a date? Kinda question

[Fman99]

How soon do you reissue #48?

I'd offer it to Senga, since he can't get #41.

I'm 100% good with this. I think it's more likely that Senga takes over #40 now that Bassitt is most unlikely to return.

I give #48 away to the next guy who requests it. You want to salt that number away, you come talk to me when he's no longer an active MLB player. Right now he can eat a hot wet bag of Texas farts.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I give #48 away to the next guy who requests it. You want to salt that number away, you come talk to me when he's no longer an active MLB player. Right now he can eat a hot wet bag of Texas farts.

Same here, exactly. Also, maybe someone can tell deGrom that the Mets signed Senga and Verlander because the Mets dont wanna win the WS.

[Frayed Knot]

I was just thinking of appearances. Like how long after your spouse dies are you allowed to be seen out on a date? Kinda question

If it were up to me personally, I'd free it up by 2024 at the latest.
But based on the current trend of the team's mindset, I don't think is gets re-issued at all.