Good Riddance to Jacob deGrom
So Jacob deGrom, arguably the best Mets pitcher since Tom Seaver, has followed Seaver’s lead and has left Flushing to finish out his career elsewhere. I say good riddance.
Listen, I wanted the Mets to re-sign deGrom. When he’s healthy (which as of late, is hardly ever), he is by far the best pitcher in baseball. But the guy apparently simply didn’t want to be here. He made that clear when he didn’t even give the Mets the courtesy of waiting for a final offer before signing on with the Rangers. That is a slap in the face and a lack of respect to the city and the team that drafted him.
Fans and the media here treated deGrom like a god. He could do no wrong. Even while he sat out for what turned out to be more than a year, no questions were asked, no pressure was put on him to come back; we all just waited. And when he faltered in his final few regular season starts, no criticism was lobbed his way. Does he think that will continue in Dallas, where he has no good will built up? Not a chance. He will regret his decision if/when he is out for an extended time and fans and the media get angry about when their budget-busting pitcher will finally take the mound.
But hey, deGrom has every right to play wherever he wants, and if he doesn’t want to play in New York, then he doesn’t want to play in New York. But that doesn’t mean we have to take it with a smile on our faces. We have every right to be angry about being jilted. Hopefully Justin Verlander will outpitch deGrom over the next two years and lead the Mets on a parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Degrom can watch from his ranch in Texas and wonder “if only…”
Comparing Seaver’s exit with Degrom’s as you did insinuating they were same, just isn’t accurate. Seaver bled orange and blue and was forced out by poor treatment by the Mets and sportswriter Dick Young who possessed huge power. Seaver was traded to mega heartbreak. He eventually returned, his legacy beloved for eternity.
Degrom has been treated like royalty and walked away, not wanting to be a Met. He damaged his relationship with Mets fans forever.