I’m fascinated by prime Dwight Gooden.
The fact that I wasn’t around to actually around to witness prime Dwight Gooden makes his prowess on the mound almost mythical.
I absolutely love when his 1985 campaign is brought up in comparison to other legendary seasons.
Bob Gibson. Pedro Martinez. Steve Carlton. Sandy Koufax. Lefty Grove. Greg Maddux. Clayton Kershaw. Tom Seaver. The list goes on.
Don’t get me wrong. As a Mets fan and student of the game I hungrily consume any and all Tom Seaver content. Maybe it’s because I caught the end of Gooden’s tenure in blue and orange that he seems more tangible to me.
It’s strange. Even the 86′ Mets were before my time, but I feel a connection to them. Maybe it’s because I watch two members of that squad and former teammates of Gooden in the Mets’ broadcast booth every night.
Which brings us to Keith Hernandez. He casually said something on air last night that shocked me.
Gary just asked Keith if he’s ever seen anything like what we’re witnessing with deGrom:
“No, I have not. Not on Doc’s best days. This is just extraordinary.”
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 24, 2021
Well. How about that?
Keith’s comments were made during another phenomenal Jacob deGrom outing.
Yes, I said phenomenal. Complete game shutout. 2 hits. No walks. 15 strikeouts. Lowered his ERA for the season to 0.31!!!
All this time I’ve been lost in the history books. I have the privilege of watching greatness every fifth day!
Sometimes you have to step back from something you’re watching in real time just to truly appreciate it.
Every time Jacob deGrom throws a pitch it seems like he’s breaking or tying a record.
Doesn’t seem like his starts get the hype of “Harvey Day,” though. He doesn’t have a cool nickname like “Dark Knight” or “Thor.”
LOLMETS is low hanging fruit for the media. So, in essence, his entire career has essentially been a running joke.
Nearly every time he pitches the story revolves around the team’s ineptitude rather than deGrom’s brilliance.
“If the Mets scored just two runs in all of deGrom’s outings he would have 1,000 wins.”
I hope that my children and grandchildren love the game of baseball like I do.
We can learn about Rube Waddell and Mordecai Brown together. Maybe we can search for video footage of Christy Mathewson.
I can tell them what I remember of Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson.
I cannot wait to tell them about Jacob deGrom.
His Rookie of The Year award.
His debut against the Yankees.
How he beat Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke on the road in his first playoff series.
I’ll tell them that from 2018-??? Jacob deGrom was as good as anyone. Ever.
We’ll talk about Bob Feller. Nolan Ryan. Walter Johnson. Warren Spahn. Jim Palmer. Juan Marichal.
And in the same breath someone will mention Jacob deGrom. And no one will bat an eye.