DeGrom: Baseball's Best Pitcher?

Even with the crackdown on foreign substances, the light shines brighter on Jacob DeGrom. He has built up a huge season already and has reached a level baseball has not seen since Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. At this point in the year, these look like something out of MLB: The Show.

Keep in mind that DeGrom is still battling injury issues, something the New York Mets are struggling with in their pitching department a little bit. Over 70 innings pitched and the earned run average is 0.50. It's a statistic the Mets are number one at. A testament to the pitching. Martinez had a couple years where it was under two. That's impressive, but DeGrom's stuff now is even more stunning. The innings will probably not reach what Johnson and Martinez did due to longevity and the persistence of using bullpens, but you still have a guy who can get over 200 innings of work.

Strikeout wise, DeGrom is more comparable to Martinez. Anything above 250 is excellent and if he can stay healthy, can reach that mark again and again. The Cy Young awards help. However, the win loss record is something to keep eye on. At the time of this, he is 77 and 53 overall His best season was a 15 win 2017 season. I don't know how things would be calculated, but there is still the opportunity to reach the Hall of Fame. But given the writers and the Clark family, he could get screwed over.

You could still make an argument of DeGrom being the best pitcher in the league. Right now, he is. But Max Scherzer of Washington may be one to keep eyes on. His ERA is not to where DeGrom is, but he is a strikeout and innings machine. Also gets a lot more wins, something the Mets don't get to their starters due to their inability to hold leads or score sufficient runs. Who do you think is the dominant pitcher in baseball? 

Defying MLB: Mets Tribute

What is normal? That was a question in 2001 following terrorist attacks on September 11th. For New York City, baseball and football was an afterthought. But when play resumed a week later, you have to wonder what players were feeling. Fast forward to yesterday, and Peter Alonso may have become THE player to talk about for New York City and sports.

Even though he grew up in Florida, he put up a special thought for last night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That result was cleats in tribute to the victims that died in the attacks. He didn't even bother to ask MLB for permission. The league rejected an idea of wearing special NYPD FDNY hats, which is really stupid. While it may not be something other teams would do, it means something if it's a team like the Mets. And at the time baseball resumed in 01, both them and the Yankees had special moments, beginning with Mike Piazza's emotional game winning home run at Shea Stadium's first game since the attacks.

MLB doesn't understand how much it means to the Mets and Yankees. They say they won't fine Alonso, but I'd hold on and wait because they can fine him behind his back. This guy has done everything right in his rookie year and could win the award this year. His 47 homers are the majors best at the moment. He's done great things for charities and seems like an all around nice guy. But what he did yesterday will be extra special to the Mets and New York City. You can't go wrong with him. He is the next gen superstar that the Mets need to rival guys like Aaron Judge.