MLB Star's Lack of Help is Reaching Laughably Sad Lows

By Ross Kelly July 29, 2018 at 1:26pm

They say a pitcher’s win-loss record isn’t a great indicator of the type of season he’s having, and no one illustrates that better than the Mets’ Jacob deGrom.

Another great outing for deGrom ended with another loss on his record Saturday night against the Pirates. The Mets’ ace saw his record drop to 5-6 despite giving up just three runs over seven innings.

The game against Pittsburgh was simply a microcosm of deGrom’s season. He leads the National League in ERA but still has a losing record.

Over his last 12 starts, deGrom has posted a 1.86 ERA but his record over that span is just 1-6. The Mets have gone 3-9 in those 12 games thanks to abysmal run support from the lineup.

The Mets have scored three or fewer runs in 10 of those 12 starts and deGrom’s run support for the season ranks among the worst in the National League.

He’s getting 3.52 runs of support per game this season, which ranks 36th out of 38 NL qualified pitchers.

“I don’t think you can describe it,” manager Mickey Callaway said of the club’s frustration at not coming through for its ace. “The guys know they haven’t been scoring runs for him and I’m sure they don’t feel very good about it.

“(deGrom) continues to put us in a position to win and we’re failing him.”

deGrom is the first pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and have a losing record through his first 21 starts since the 1968 season. Yet he’s still considered a frontrunner for the Cy Young award even though he’s not paying much attention to it.

Will Jacob deGrom win the NL Cy Young award?

“I honestly haven’t thought about it,” deGrom said. “I want to go out there and put up zeroes and I wasn’t able to do that tonight.”

If there is hope for deGrom (because there’s surely none for the Mets), there is a precedent for his type of season still being rewarded with a Cy Young award.

In 2010 Felix Hernandez won the AL Cy Young despite posting just a 13-12 record. However, King Felix did lead the AL in ERA, pitcher WAR and hits allowed per nine innings.

His 13 wins were the fewest by a starting pitcher to win the Cy Young in a non-shortened season as voters looked past his pedestrian win-loss record and focused on the numbers that mattered.

deGrom may not even reach 10 wins this season but he also leads his league in ERA, pitcher WAR and the ever-important FIP.

Forget the Cy Young, Jacob deGrom deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for not murdering his teammates.

— TwinkleMets 🧡⚾️🍪💙 (@TwinkleMets) July 29, 2018

The next chance for deGrom to be let down by his teammates will come Friday against the Braves. He’ll face off against Atlanta’s Sean Newcomb who has nearly twice as many wins (9-5 record) as deGrom, while also having nearly twice the ERA (3.41).

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