Mets Articles

Why I Couldn’t Vote for Jacob deGrom for Cy Young

Even though the IBWAA awards really do not amount to much, I take my voting responsibilities seriously. So when it came time to cast my vote for NL Cy Young (although I do not think we are allowed to call it that!), I had to go with my conscience and not place Jacob deGrom at the top.

jacob degrom
Jacob deGrom is still the Cy Young front-runner despite my possibly outdated view.

Back in 2010, I was angry that Felix Hernandez won the AL Cy Young with a 13-12 record and a league-leading 2.27 ERA. My headline said “ridiculous”  — that a pitcher with barely a .500 record would win the top prize over pitchers with more than 20 wins to go along with very respectable ERAs.

It is eight years later and I still feel the same way.

As the season progressed and we could all see what was going to happen, I thought about my eventual vote. And I decided deGrom’s ERA would have to be historic to make up for the poor win-loss record.

Now, Jacob deGrom’s ERA was arguably historic; it was the sixth lowest since the pitching mounds were lowered after that crazy 1968 season. But six other pitchers had ERAs in the 1.7s since then. For me to vote for deGrom, it would have had to be really historic, in the 1.5s preferably. That would have made up for the lack of wins for me.

Ah wins, the unimportant statistic according to the sabermetrics bunch. I get the argument — a pitcher can only control the balls he throws, not the ones his bullpen throws or his offense hits. So if he does his job and his teammates prevent him from getting a win, it shouldn’t matter.

But it does matter, to me. anyway. And while it doesn’t matter to many writers and fans, it does matter to the most important person involved in this — pitchers. You think Cliff Lee was happy with his 2012 season in which he pitched to a solid 3.16 ERA but only went 6-9? He wasn’t. And while I’m sure deGrom is pleased with his miniscule ERA, looking at that record must rankle him.

There is another issue here that no one talks about. If a pitcher really wants to accumulate wins, he needs to stay in the game. Don’t throw six or seven innings and then leave things to your unreliable relievers. While deGrom suffered from lack of offensive support, the Mets bullpen cost him a few wins as well. More durable pitchers tend to get the wins (although deGrom was second in the league with 217 innings pitched, 3.2 behind Max Scherzer). But that pales in comparison with the 300+ innings starters routinely used to throw, which is why wins are down. But I guess the game has changed.

And maybe that undermines my entire argument. If the game has changed, shouldn’t the way we look at stats change? Maybe, but come on, 10-9? Give me 15-10, at least. It doesn’t have to be 20 wins, but give me something to work with here!

I like a pitcher with a strong overall stat line — a good amount of wins and strikeouts and a low ERA. He doesn’t even have to lead the league in any categories as long as he has excellent numbers overall. Both Scherzer and Aaron Nola fit into this category, which is why I placed then both above deGrom. I had Scherzer on top; after all, the guy did strike out 300 batters, an impressive feat indeed.

But before you get mad at me, I know I am a dinosaur. And besides, deGrom will almost certainly win the Cy Young, if only so the writers can make their statement that wins are meaningless. And I won’t be too angry about it; after all, Jacob deGrom is a Met (not to mention the other two guys pitch for the hated Nationals and Phillies). But this is how I view the game, and I will stick by my principles regardless of uniform. Now get off my lawn!

3 thoughts on “Why I Couldn’t Vote for Jacob deGrom for Cy Young

  • LongTimeFan1

    I’m a dinosaur too. But being a dinosaur is no excuse for not growing through common sense and recognizing that sports – like life – changes. There’s a time and place to hold ground – and a time and place to let in the light.

    They CY Young is for the best overall pitcher – not the best overall team.

    Any open and fair-minded person looking at an array of facts and stats discovers Degrom had historic season. in the affirmative.

    Seems to me Mark Berman opted not to look outside his comfort zone, and thus failed in his responsibility to rightfully award the NL Cy Young to the best pitcher in the league. Berman actually yapped about 300 innings that no longer exist and Degrom not being durable 3.2 innings off the league leading Scherzer pace. I suppose it must have been Degrom’s fault it rained forcing a missed start.

    Nonsense like this is good reason to pull Berman’s credentials. Being a dinosaur isn’t Berman’s problem. Hanging onto the extinct, is.

  • The Mets had a bottom five offense in all of baseball. It doesn’t matter how well you pitch if your team is incapable of scoring runs… as evidenced by Jacob deGrom’s season.

    This isn’t some vague, open to interpretation award like the MVP. The Cy Young is awarded to the best individual pitcher for their performance – which deGrom had by literally every metric except for wins, which are completely team-dependent. To not reward an individual’s performance because the team around him was lousy lacks a total understanding of the way the game functions, whether you’re a dinosaur or not.

    At least we can all rest easy knowing the IBWAA means nothing.

  • deGrom deserves the Cy Young, and to award it to some other pitcher because their team won more games seems like a gross injustice to Jacob deGrom’s amazing season, and amazingly low ERA.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Why ask?