He delivered no matter circumstances
2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey explains why Jacob deGrom should become the Mets’ fourth Cy Young winner in team history. As told to The Post’s Kevin Kernan.
The thing that sticks out about Jacob deGrom in my mind is consistency. And in any Cy Young year, you have to be consistent, but even beyond this singular year, I feel like Jacob has been performing at a Cy Young level. I’m pulling for him. I got my fingers crossed. I want him to win badly just because he has put in the work, he has punched the clock year after year and has done it such a professional way. Another t hi ng is, to do it in New York. I shared something with him in that in 2012, when we as a team weren’t playing for anything. It was kind of the only thing going with the team at the time. For me it was something to be shared with the fans who had weathered a tough year. I feel like Jacob has treated it the same way. He’s been real humble about it.
There is a little bit of pressure that comes with that because you want to do so well. And you know it’s kind of the bright spot of the season for the team and fans and you want to give them that gift. I was so thankful to win my 20th game in New York on my last start of the year. That was a big deal for me. Similarly for Jacob, down the stretch, he felt an obligation not just to himself, but to every person who had come out there to support him throughout the year where the Mets didn’t do very well and I think that’s special.
One of the things I really appreciate about his story is that it was (Noah) Syndergaard, (Matt) Harvey, (Steven) Matz and (Zack) Wheeler. Jacob was an afterthought at that time. That is one of the things I admire about his journey. He wasn’t necessarily like me, coming off the scrap heap, so to speak, but he certainly was overlooked, and he has been dynamite year after year.
Hitters talk about how f ilthy he is. One of the reasons he is so f ilthy is because of how consistently he pounds the strike zone. He hits the corners of the plate with multiple pitches, it’s like watching a piece of art happen in front of your eyes.
When I got my Cy Young, it was otherworldly to be mentioned in the same breath as Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver and I’m sure he will feel a similar feeling, if he wins, that he is in this pantheon of greatness now that can never be taken from him. It’s neat.