Tom Seaver
Well, after the first series of the season was canceled due to COVID19, the Washington Nationals and New York Mets finally got to play in a series. The Mets would win yet another home series and stay above .500:
1. Jacob deGrom is already the second best pitcher in Mets history, and in short order, we will consider him the second best Mets player to ever wear a Mets uniform. In fact, he may already be there.
2. To put in context just how great deGrom is, he’s set the record for most strikeouts to start a season, and he has passed Tom Seaver in Mets ERA and ERA+. Yes, he has been so great he has put himself in Seaver territory.
3. Seeing deGrom hit, you are reminded pitchers can actually hit and help themselves at the plate. The fact other pitchers don’t do it is their own failing, and it is not a good argument for the universal DH.
4. deGrom has driven in and scored more earned runs than he has allowed.
5. Marcus Stroman had one bad day. There is nothing more that should be read into it.
6. We saw Robert Gsellman step up, and he has looks ready to be a solid contributor to the bullpen. Overall, the bullpen has picked it up across the board, and they seem to be outperforming the early season expectations. In some ways, this could be attributable to Jeremy Hefner who had a similar effect in Minnesota as an assistant pitching coach.
7. Once again, Taijuan Walker was really good, and he appears to be the steal of the offseason for the Mets. Notably, when starters are going deep into games, that also helps the bullpen.
8. Michael Conforto‘s defense is still worrisome, especially his arm, but he appears to be getting going at the plate. We saw him hit his first homer of the season, and we saw him get extra base hits on back-to-back days for the first time all season.
9. For reasons that defy expectation, this Mets front office seem to believe more in J.D. Davis than Jeff McNeil. Davis can cost Mets consecutive games with his glove, and they give him on brief rest, but McNeil has some struggles at the plate, and they refuse to try to put him where he thrives in the lineup or let him work through it.
10. Albert Almora doesn’t play much, but when he does, he makes an impact. He scored from first in a pinch running opportunity earlier in the season, and he robbed Kyle Schawarber of an extra base hit as we have only seen Juan Lagares do previously.
11. Jonathan Villar has contributed quite well in the games he has played, and he has earned his playing time. It is really curious why the Mets won’t sit Davis for him, but they will sit McNeil. It’s also curious what Luis Guillorme has to do to get into the lineup.
12. The Mets sat Dominic Smith against a left-handed pitcher again despite his being one of their best hitters against left-handed pitching. Again, better players sit so Davis can be force fed into the lineup.
13. While Sunday was a really good game defensively, the Mets defense continues to be atrocious, second worst in the National League by DRS, and the Mets show little to no interest in playing their best defensive players.
14. It needs to be mentioned again. Jacob deGrom is doing things we haven’t seen since Seaver, and we may never get to see greatness of this level in a Mets uniform again for quite some time, if ever. He is that good, and he is going to be the player we tell our children and grandchildren about for years to come.
15. The Mets better not fail deGrom the way they did Mike Piazza and David Wright. They need to make sure he wins a World Series in a Mets uniform.
16. Brandon Nimmo is very quietly emerging as one of the best players in baseball. He is an on-base machine, and we see his defense steadily improving. This is someone using all the information at his disposal to be better. He should be an All-Star, and at some point, we may need to have serious MVP discussions about him. Then again, that award should go to deGrom.
17. The state of umpiring in the majors may be at its worst. We see calls routinely blown, especially by the home plate umpire. Needless to say, if Nimmo takes a pitch, it’s a ball.
18. Pete Alonso is really heating up at the plate, and we have seen him just demolish homers.
19. Put aside the offense, the work James McCann and Tomas Nido have done behind the plate has been nothing short of phenomenal. They are getting their pitcher the calls they need, and they are playing all around great defense. If McCann can start hitting like we know he can, watch out. Hopefully, that RBI single on Sunday for McCann was a start.
20. Listening to the game on the radio really makes you miss Josh Lewin. No one really wants to hear Francisco Lindor needs to run out foul balls or Nimmo is swinging at pitches because he’s finally confident at the plate. The Mets can and should do better than that, but in some ways, that’s an allegory for their season so far.
Earlier in the week, Jacob deGrom said something which would’ve sounded ridiculous from anyone else. Like Tom Brady, deGrom wants to play well into his 40s.
As he explained, that’s what he needs to do in order to fulfill his goal. As he said, “To become an inner-circle Hall of Famer, I’m gonna have to play that long.”
Like he always does, deGrom went out there and backed it up. He did it by once again setting Major League records.
5️⃣0️⃣ punchouts (and counting) through his first four starts of the season. A new major league record. ? pic.twitter.com/IaEa2SmidW
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 24, 2021
In his complete game two hit shutout of the Washington Nationals, deGrom set a new personal best with 15 strikeouts. He became the first pitcher to strike out 50 over his first four starts of the season.
In fact, deGrom would accomplish far more than that. His career ERA dropped to 2.55, which puts him ahead of Tom Seaver. He now also tops Seaver in K/9 and ERA+ while nipping at his heels for FIP.
That’s not supposed to happen. This is like a New York Yankee taking a run at Babe Ruth. You’re not supposed to be able to reach these levels.
It’s not just that. The last pitcher to have ANY four span with 50 strikeouts and a sub 0.50 ERA are deGrom and Randy Johnson. He’s already bested Bob Gibson‘s mark for consecutive quality starts. The entire list of pitchers with a Rookie of the Year and consecutive Cy Youngs is deGrom.
In his career, deGrom has made 187 starts. In 88 of them, he’s allowed one run or fewer. That’s 47.1% of his career starts. This is truly rarified air, and he’s only getting better.
Anytime you set new records and officially move past Seaver, you firmly put yourself in the conversation for inner circle Hall of Famers, and obviously, it makes your performance the Neon Moment of the Week!
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To a certain extent, you can say Jacob deGrom underperformed tonight. After all, Andrew Stevenson and Starlin Castro managed to get a hit off of him.
That’s it. That was the total extent of the Nationals offense, and honestly, it was a miracle they even made contact.
deGrom set a career high with 15 strikeouts. He was around 100 MPH the entire night. He retired the final 19 batters he faced.
Really, there are no words to describe how great deGrom was. That’s because they haven’t been invented yet. Likely, that’s because we have not seen anything like this.
It’s at the point with deGrom where he’s struck out 14+ in three consecutive starts. He has a 0.31 ERA on the season. With this complete game shutout, his career ERA is lower than Tom Seaver‘s Mets ERA, and deGrom has a better ERA+ to boot.
5️⃣0️⃣ punchouts (and counting) through his first four starts of the season. A new major league record. ? pic.twitter.com/IaEa2SmidW
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 24, 2021
Dominating from the mound isn’t enough for deGrom. No, he also has to be great at the plate. Tonight, he was 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs, a double, and an RBI.
Rakers who pitch. #LGM pic.twitter.com/sPmDvLBCG0
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 24, 2021
That’s right. Jacob deGrom had as many hits as he allowed. He also scored and drove in more runs than he allowed. In fact, deGrom drove in as many runs in this game as earned runs he’s allowed. Of course, that also means he scored more than he’s allowed.
Overall, the Mets won 6-0, and it was almost all because of deGrom. He was pure magic to the point where he awoke a sleeping Mets offense.
After his third inning RBI double off Erick Fedde, Brandon Nimmo would hit a two RBI single. That three run inning put the game out of reach.
Nimmo returned to the lineup after missing two games dealing with a hip issue. He was great too going 3-for-5 with two runs, a homer, and four RBI.
"score runs" pic.twitter.com/E8ZfhqWO7p
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 24, 2021
The other run was driven in by Dominic Smith with a seventh inning single driving in Nimmo. Of course, this is all filler. What the night was really about was deGrom.
We are seeing pure greatness every fifth day. You never know what he’s going to do next. The only thing you do know is he’s going to amaze.
Game Notes: Michael Conforto hit for a second consecutive game for the first time since the second game of the season. After a day off due to his defense, J.D. Davis returned to the lineup. He fielded the only chance he had, but he also had a three strikeout game.
To start the game, Jacob deGrom didn’t have his best stuff. In fact, he was “only” hitting 96 on the gun. Naturally, he was phenomenal.
Starting with a strikeout of Josh Fuentes in the second, deGrom would strike out nine consecutive. That was one short of Tom Seaver‘s Major League record of 10 in a row.
NINE straight Ks for de?, tying the 2nd-longest streak in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/sOMkLZ6AhF
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2021
That’s when the defense completely failed deGrom. Fuentes led off the fifth with a grounder up the middle. Jeff McNeil would Field it cleanly but throw it away allowing Fuentes to reach safely.
Then, Dom Nunez would hit a ball off the wall. Michael Conforto played it terribly off the wall. With him chasing the ball down, Fuentes scored easily, and Nunez had a triple.
Yonathan Daza followed with a shallow liner to right. In what was very likely driven by deGrom pitching, Nunez went home. He scored easily as Conforto made a poor off line throw which gave James McCann no chance to field it and make the tag.
Ramiel Tapia followed with a flick of the wrist Coors Field homer. Just like that, a 1-0 lead turned into a 3-1 deficit courtesy of three unearned runs.
As is normally the case, deGrom received next to no run support. That was even with Chi Chi Gonzalez starting for the Rockies.
deGrom led off the third with a single. In what was a completely inane decision, Brandon Nimmo, the Mets best hitter was called upon to sacrifice deGrom to second, which he did.
After a Francisco Lindor ground out and Dominic Smith walk, Pete Alonso delivered with an RBI single. At the moment, it seemed like it was all the run support deGrom would need.
It also appeared that was all deGrom was going to get. Part of the reason was all of the double plays.
In the second, it was J.D. Davis killing a potential rally with a double play. In the fourth, Trevor Story made a great play off a McCann grounder to turn another double play.
In the sixth, Alonso got one of the runs back hitting his second homer of the season:
The polar bear hits a frozen rope. ?❄️ #LGM pic.twitter.com/VSWO5fiz48
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 17, 2021
deGrom’s final inning was the sixth, and he was great again. He would strike out two more. This would mark the second straight start where he struck out 14.
Overall, deGrom allowed three runs (zero earned) on three hits with one walk. Believe it or not, he’d actually pick up the win.
McCann led off the seventh with a single off Rockies closer Daniel Bard. Luis Rojas would send in Albert Almora in to pinch run. He’d soon look like a genius.
Jonathan Villar pinch hit for deGrom and hit a double to right. Almora dashed from first, and he JUST got his hand in to score the game tying run.
.@JRvillar6 COMES UP CLUTCH ONCE AGAIN!!! #LGM pic.twitter.com/Ie6XSGkIhj
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 17, 2021
After a Nimmo infield single put runners on the corners, Lindor delivered his biggest hit in his nascent Mets career. His RBI single gave the Mets a 4-3 lead.
With the 4-3 lead, Edwin Diaz came on for his first save chance of the season. He struck out the side to earn his first save. That means he and deGrom managed to strike out 17 Rockies over a seven inning game.
With the late rally, deGrom earned his first win of the season. Overall, he’s 1-1 with a 0.45 ERA. Not a bad way to start the doubleheader.
Game Notes: With Davis activated off the IL, Jose Peraza was optioned. With this being a doubleheader, Stephen Tarpley was called up as the 27th man.
If not for the Washington Nationals, we would have seen the start of the Francisco Lindor Era with the New York Mets. Instead, that era starts in Philadelphia nearly a half week into the season.
If Mets history is any gauge, the era will start off with a win as the Mets have won on Opening Day at a higher percentage than any team in Major League history. The chances of that increase exponentially with Jacob deGrom on the mound.
Of course, this isn’t really Opening Day, but that is also besides the point. The real point is Lindor is a Met now, and he will Be for the following decade.
In that decade, there is a clear path for Lindor to easily surpass Jose Reyes to become the best shortstop in Mets history. In fact, in what New York Yankees fans may consider sacrilege, he could go on and become the best shortstop in New York baseball history.
Anything is on the table with Lindor. Since his career began, he’s been the best shortstop in baseball, and really he’s been the third best player in the game. Looking at it that way, it certainly fits that Mike Trout and Mookie Betts are the only higher paid players.
Lindor is having a Hall of Fame career, and much like Mike Piazza and Gary Carter, he’s going to get the opportunity to cement that legacy in Flushing. If so, he will join Piazza and Tom Seaver as players who have entered the Hall of Fame as Mets and had their numbers retired by the team.
With Lindor and Steve Cohen’s willingness to invest not just in players, but also the front office and technology, this promises to be one of the greatest stretches in Mets history. In fact, it could surpass what we saw in the 1980s.
Whatever happens from here on out, it’s most likely going to be defined by Lindor. He’s a genuine superstar playing in the best city in the world. Chances are this is going to be a mixture of magic and amazin.
While COVID protocols are supposed to put a stop to the ceremonial presentation of the lineup cards to the umpire, everyone seemed to make an exception for Mike Piazza. During Spring Training, he went out to home plate to deliver the lineup card while everyone else remained in the dugout and clubhouses.
Pretty sure my mom isn’t going to stop sending me pictures unless I post one, so here’s Mike Piazza bringing out the lineup card today. pic.twitter.com/EeFYIpPF0S
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 23, 2021
While most former players stayed home, Piazza was at Spring Training. He was seen talking in the dugout. He spoke with the media about being a Mets great and about his being in the position Francisco Lindor now finds himself. With all of this, we see Piazza embracing his role as the Mets living legend, and in turn, the Mets franchise embracing him.
Truth is, this has been a process we have seen take place since 2015, perhaps sooner. It was Piazza who threw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the 2015 World Series. That was a spot which should have gone to Tom Seaver, but as we later learned, Seaver was not in good enough health to make that appearance. As such, it was Piazza who threw out that pitch.
If you think about it, the passing of that torch from Seaver to Piazza ceremoniously happened when Citi Field opened. As we know, the last pitch ever thrown at Shea Stadium was Seaver throwing a pitch to Piazza, and the two legends exited the stadium side-by-side. They would recreate the moment by entering Citi Field together with Seaver again throwing a pitch to Piazza.
In that moment, Piazza became the Mets living legend. That status was further crystalized with Piazza’s first pitch, Hall of Fame induction, and number retirement. We also saw the Mets rename the road by their Spring Training complex after Piazza much in the same way the Mets finally did for Seaver at Citi Field.
The good news with Piazza is the Mets have had an easier time embracing him than they did with Seaver. Of course, that refers to the organization led by the Wilpons and not the fans. There has been no apparent uneasiness between them, and we have seen Piazza as a regular face at the important Mets events. We will see that once again on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
All told, we are blessed Mike Piazza came to the Mets in that 1998 trade and that he signed that deal. That led him to a path towards not only further building his Hall of Fame resume, but it also led him to being the real face of the Mets franchise. He is the person who mentors the young players at Spring Training, helps the next generation of Mets superstars, and he is the man who throws out the first pitch before the first game of the World Series.
Put another way, Mike Piazza is the Mets living legend.
Mike Piazza perhaps let the cat out of the bag when he intimated the New York Mets may start retiring more numbers. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a shock when the organization announced Jerry Koosman‘s 36 was going to be retired.
Looking at the Mets franchise history, this is quite the Steinbrenner type of move.
After the simply bizarre act of retiring Casey Stengel‘s number, the Mets put the highest of standards for retiring player numbers. In fact, prior to the Koosman announcement, it was an honor solely reserved for Hall of Famers.
It’s a standard which frankly makes sense. Number retirement should be an honor presented to the true legends of your franchise. By definition, that’s what the Hall of Famers are.
If we sort through team history, if not for a completely and arbitrary application of an theretofore unenforced rule Gary Carter would be in the Hall of Fame as a Met. That would’ve led to the retirement of his 8.
It’s also quite possible we may one day see Keith Hernandez and Carlos Beltran inducted. With that should come their numbers being retired. At least with respect to Hernandez, that would be an extremely popular decision.
Past that duo, the only player who you can conceive of hitting that level is Jacob deGrom. That’s something that needs consideration.
When a number is retired, the franchise is putting a player at the level of Tom Seaver, Piazza, and quite possibly deGrom. Looking at the team history, they don’t have players at that level. They really don’t.
That includes David Wright who is an extremely popular choice amongst the fans. If not for injuries, he very well might’ve. By the same token, if not for addiction, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry not only would’ve been at that level, but quite possibly, would’ve been a step above Wright.
Fact is Wright is a Mets great, but he’s not a baseball great. Yes, he deserves honoring by the Mets, but a number retirement is just too high of an honor. That should be reserved for the true legends to wear a Mets uniform.
Keep in mind, as discussed on the Simply Amazin Podcast, much of the case for Wright can dwindle over time. For example, if Michael Conforto re-signs, he should take over a good chunk of Wright’s records.
After that, we could see someone else surpass both players. Part of the reason is the records on the books isn’t particularly impressive for a franchise. Keep in mind, that’s not saying Wright’s career numbers aren’t impressive. They are. However, as a franchise leader, it’s not.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The issue just is where you start drawing lines.
For example, for all the push for Wright, John Franco remains the franchise all-time saves leader, has the most saves of any left-handed pitcher in MLB history, and he was a captain. Despite that, there seems little to no push to retire his number even with his being a Met longer just as long as Wright.
Really, when you look at both, yes, they should be honored, but in reality, it should be short of number retirement. In reality, that’s why there’s a Mets Hall of Fame.
The answer should be to make the Mets Hall of Fame into a destination at Citi Field. Really showcase the Mets greats honoring them the way they should be honored. That’s far more fitting than trying to elevate players like Wright to the levels of Seaver.
In the end, there’s nothing wrong with not having many numbers retired. In many ways, that makes that honor all the more meaningful. It’s better to keep it that way while also finding an appropriate way to honor the Mets greats who aren’t in the Hall of Fame.
Tom Seaver did something unique in New York Mets history. When he took the field for player introductions before Game 1 of the 1986 World Series, he became the first pitcher to stand on the field for three separate Mets postseason games.
Of course, Seaver was wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform, and he never did pitch in that series. To date, no Mets pitcher has pitched in three separate postseasons for the Mets . . . yet.
Back in 2015, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia were big pieces of a Mets pitching staff which not only led the team to the postseason but also a pennant. They’d join Addison Reed as the only members of that 2015 staff to pitch in the ensuing postseason when the Mets lost the Wild Card Game.
That trio joined a number of the 1999-2000 Mets pitchers to pitch in consecutive postseason. That list included Armando Benitez, Dennis Cook, John Franco, Al Leiter, Rick Reed, and Turk Wendell.
They are just part of a group of Mets pitchers to pitch in multiple postseasons. The other pitchers in that group are Rick Aguilera, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Roger McDowell, Tug McGraw, and Seaver.
That’s a total of 17 pitchers who have appeared in two postseasons for the Mets. However, none have appeared in three.
If Syndergaard can return from Tommy John, and Familia can stay healthy and productive, they’re going to get that chance because this is an excellent Mets team. This is a team which should get there, and maybe this time Syndergaard and Familia can celebrate a World Series.
After that, with both being pending free agents, the question will be whether they’ll get the opportunity to get to pitch in a fourth postseason. Time will tell.
New York Mets fans really love their players. That goes double for those players who implicitly get it on some level. Those players become fan favorites.
It’s not necessarily limited to the David Wrights and Mike Piazzas of the world. We’ve seen it with Wilmer Flores with his crying on the field and walk-off hits. Curtis Granderson was as good and decent a man who ever donned a Mets uniform.
The key with most of these fan favorites is they let the fans know they’re loved and appreciated. On some level, the player just gets in. With respect to that, we’re seeing some of that already with Taijuan Walker.
Already, we have seen Walker give a nod to the late, great Tom Seaver, a pitcher who will forever be in Mets fans hearts, by apparently celebrating his new contract with GTS wine:
— Taijuan Walker (@tai_walker) February 20, 2021
Walker has also already engaged the fans. In his career, Walker has worn both 00 and 99. Apparently, he’s heavily considering both, and on that front, he’s invited Mets fans feedback:
Which number?
— Taijuan Walker (@tai_walker) February 20, 2021
What’s important is none of this appears phony. It’s does genuinely seem to be who he is. After all, he recently posted videos of him dunking and his attempting to dunk.
All told, Walker is already doing all the right things to show fans he gets it. He doesn’t just want to wear a Mets uniform. He wants to be a part of the fabric of the organization. Fans will notice and love him for it.
Don’t be surprised if Mets fans suddenly adore Walker. That will go double if he builds off a strong 2020 season to be a key cog in a rotation which carries the Mets to the World Series.