Cherish It

Should Major League Baseball have moved the trade deadline so that Jacob deGrom's return could get the appropriate fanfare? Maybe, but the sport is barely worthy of this man's greatness

By Roger Cormier

It was all there on May 15, 2014. Jacob deGrom, meant to pitch in relief until Dillon Gee got injured, made his MLB debut against the Yankees. He allowed one measly run in seven innings. And lost. In fact, his first four starts were all quality starts. He didn't win any of them. 

He got his first hit in The Show in his first at-bat. It ended a record 0-for-64 streak that Mets pitchers had going at the plate.

He was the first Met to win Rookie of the Year since Dwight Gooden. 

His rotationmate Matt "The Dark Knight'' Harvey, returning from Tommy John surgery, stole most of the headlines in 2015. Meanwhile, deGrom was establishing himself as no fluke, building a brand of having no brand, letting his warmup music, Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man," speak for him. He made the All-Star team and struck out three batters on a total of 10 pitches, impressing Joe Buck and a national television audience.

It was his two performances in the NLDS against the Dodgers that proved to be when Jacob deGrom became Jacob deFuckingGrom. He shut out L.A. in Game 1, striking out 13 in seven innings. In the win-or-go-home Game 5, he gave up two runs in the first and clearly did not have it. He still managed to not give up another run through the sixth. The Mets won by one skinny run to advance.