New York Mets: Offensive ineptitude is putting Jacob deGrom on the wrong side of history
The New York Mets‘ offensive struggles are no secret at this point in the season, but their inability to hit is putting Jacob deGrom on the wrong side of baseball history.
With a 1.55 ERA to his name as of this writing, Jacob deGrom is having a Cy Young-caliber season and would be the frontrunner for the award if not for his record, which sits at a paltry 4-2.
That kind of record is by no means deGrom’s fault as anyone who follows the team can attest to. In fact, deGrom has been absolutely lights-out since the end of April.
In his last 10 outings, including Wednesday’s start against the Atlanta Braves, deGrom has given up just six earned runs in 62.1 innings pitched, good for an extraordinary 0.87 ERA over that span.
Unfortunately, deGrom has a 2-2 record in that 10 game span thanks to New York’s pitiful offensive display.
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Despite the righty’s dominance, the Mets have averaged 1.9 runs per game in deGrom’s lasts 10 starts, leaving them with a 2-8 record when he was on the mound. In seven of those losses, deGrom only allowed one run or fewer, which is downright unacceptable.
Thanks to their inability to provide their ace with run support, New York has put deGrom in some unwanted company.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, deGrom and the Mets own a share of the MLB record for most losses in which a pitcher allowed on earned run or fewer.
Today was the 7th time this season Jacob deGrom has allowed 1 or fewer runs and his team lost.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 13, 2018
That's tied for the most such starts by a pitcher in an entire season since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893 (via @EliasSports)
To make this even worse, deGrom is the first pitcher to reach that mark in the first 130 games of the season. To put that in perspective, deGrom’s last start was New York’s 64th game of the season.
New York’s aware that they’re ruining deGrom’s season, with Todd Frazier going so far as to personally apologize to the man himself. The Mets can apologize all they want, but the fact remains: The club needs to start hitting again.
Not only are they wasting the season away thanks to their offensive ineptitude, but they’re wasting away what could be considered deGrom’s career year.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old has been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks and as much as the fan base would hate to see him go (myself included), deGrom needs a new change of scenery. A trade should happen if the Mets don’t start helping him out.
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If things continue the way they are and the club doesn’t find a trading partner, they’d be doing a disservice to one of their best pitchers in recent memory.