New York Mets Pitcher Jacob deGrom Wins National League Cy Young Award for the Second Consecutive Year
Introduction
The New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom wins the 2019 National League Cy Young Award. This is the second consecutive year that he has won this award. deGrom received 29 of 30 first place votes making him a landslide winner of the NL Cy Young Award this season.
The amazing circumstances in which Jacob deGrom won this award the last two years is quite remarkable. The New York Mets have been a pretty bad ball club over the last several Major League Baseball seasons. Individual awards such as the Cy Young are often awarded to players on a contending team as their ace helps guide them into the MLB postseason but not in this case.
The Other NL Cy Young Candidates
The second place candidate for the award was the Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu who was the Major League Baseball leader in ERA. He was the only other player besides deGrom to receive a first place vote in the NL. Max Scherzer of the World Series champion Washington Nationals finished in third place for the award. Scherzer has previously won the Cy Young Award three times, but I am sure he would have rather won the World Series than the Cy Young this past baseball season.
NL Pitchers to have Won the Cy Young Award 2 Consecutive Years
There are now seven different pitchers to have won the National League Cy Young Award at least two years in a row. Jacob deGrom now joins that incredible group including Randy Johnson, Tim Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Greg Maddux, and Sandy Koufax. That is quite a list of dominant starting pitchers that have cemented their place in the MLB record books.
Multiple Winners for the Mets
Currently there are only two pitchers to win multiple NL Cy Young Awards for the New York Mets organization. Jacob deGrom now joins legendary hurler Tom Seaver as the only other Met to have won more than one Cy Young Awards. Seaver has won the award three times throughout his amazing professional baseball career. Other New York Mets pitchers to have been honored with this award are R.A. Dickey and Dwight Gooden. Jacob deGrom has the opportunity to win more Cy Young Awards in a Mets uniform as he recently signed a five year $137.5 million contract extension.
Jacob deGrom's Career Regular Season Statistics
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W | Awards |
| 2014 | 26 | NYM | NL | 9 | 6 | 0.6 | 2.69 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 140.1 | 117 | 44 | 42 | 7 | 43 | 2 | 144 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 565 | 128 | 2.67 | 1.14 | 7.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 9.2 | 3.35 | RoY-1 |
| 2015 | 27 | NYM | NL | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 2.54 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 191 | 149 | 59 | 54 | 16 | 38 | 2 | 205 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 751 | 149 | 2.7 | 0.979 | 7 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 9.7 | 5.39 | AS,CYA-7 |
| 2016 | 28 | NYM | NL | 7 | 8 | 0.467 | 3.04 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 148 | 142 | 53 | 50 | 15 | 36 | 0 | 143 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 604 | 132 | 3.32 | 1.203 | 8.6 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 8.7 | 3.97 | |
| 2017 | 29 | NYM | NL | 15 | 10 | 0.6 | 3.53 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 201.1 | 180 | 87 | 79 | 28 | 59 | 5 | 239 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 827 | 117 | 3.5 | 1.187 | 8 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 10.7 | 4.05 | CYA-8 |
| 2018 | 30 | NYM | NL | 10 | 9 | 0.526 | 1.7 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 217 | 152 | 48 | 41 | 10 | 46 | 3 | 269 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 835 | 218 | 1.98 | 0.912 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 11.2 | 5.85 | AS,CYA-1,MVP-5 |
| 2019 | 31 | NYM | NL | 11 | 8 | 0.579 | 2.43 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 204 | 154 | 59 | 55 | 19 | 44 | 1 | 255 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 804 | 167 | 2.67 | 0.971 | 6.8 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 11.3 | 5.8 | AS |
| 6 Yrs | 66 | 49 | 0.574 | 2.62 | 171 | 171 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1101.2 | 894 | 350 | 321 | 95 | 266 | 13 | 1255 | 20 | 0 | 22 | 4386 | 148 | 2.78 | 1.053 | 7.3 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 10.3 | 4.72 | ||||
| 162 Game Avg. | 13 | 10 | 0.574 | 2.62 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 219 | 178 | 70 | 64 | 19 | 53 | 3 | 250 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 872 | 148 | 2.78 | 1.053 | 7.3 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 10.3 | 4.72 |
Career Playoff Statistics
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Series | Rslt | Opp | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W | WPA |
| 2015 | 27 | NYM | NL | NLDS | W | LAD | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1.38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 1.154 | 7.6 | 0 | 2.8 | 13.8 | 5 | 0.52 |
| 2015 | 27 | NYM | NL | NLCS | W | CHC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.57 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0.714 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 9 | 7 | 0.15 |
| 2015 | 27 | NYM | NL | WS | L | KCR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1.8 | 10.8 | 0 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 0.67 | -0.23 |
| 1 Yr (3 Series) | 3 | 1 | 0.75 | 2.88 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 21 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 1.16 | 7.6 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 10.4 | 3.63 | 0.44 | ||||||
| 1 NLDS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1.38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 1.154 | 7.6 | 0 | 2.8 | 13.8 | 5 | 0.52 | ||||||
| 1 NLCS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.57 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0.714 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 9 | 7 | 0.15 | ||||||
| 1 WS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1.8 | 10.8 | 0 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 0.67 | -0.23 |
Media Statements
"I feel like I was trying to better what I did in 2018," deGrom stated. "I think that was something I struggled with to start this year, was kind of dwelling on what happened last year. Kind of not focusing on the task ahead as much as I probably should have."
"It was a dream to play this game and a dream to win one Cy Young," he added. "To win back to back was a goal. It's hard to explain. You set these goals, but it almost doesn't feel real yet."
"That would mean a lot. It'd be a huge honor," deGrom explained. "I guess you do kind of set personal goals, but tonight we fell short of a team goal. So it's kind of mixed emotions, and nobody in here is real happy that we're eliminated."
“Another amazing year,’’ tweets New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. “Winning back-to-back Cy Young Awards is a testament to @JdeGrom19’s work ethic and commitment to his craft. Congratulations Jacob! #GOAT’’
“In 2015, the entire playoffs into the World Series, that was the most fun I’ve had playing baseball and that is why you play this game,’’ deGrom mentioned. “That’s the ultimate prize for the best team and that’s what you are trying to do.
“We showed that we have a good team in the second half. If we could have done that all year we would have been right there. I think that was something to build on from this last year and that’s the goal into next year, to put all these pieces together and play really good team baseball from start to finish.’’
"I think it kind of set in on the drive over, like, 'Hey, they're about to announce the Cy Young,' " deGrom exclaimed. "I've said before that this was one of my goals. The team didn't end up where we wanted to be this past season, but you set personal goals. Being able to accomplish something that's a dream of yours is just something special."
"His consistency and competitiveness were unmatched," says Brodie Van Wagenen.
The New York Mets former manager Mickey Callaway said, "His competitive spirt is unlike anything I've ever seen and simply the best season I've ever witnessed from a pitcher."
deGrom stated, "When you're doing something, I don't know if you realize it as much as people watching."
"The goal of pitching, for me, it's trying to keep the other team from scoring runs," deGrom explains. "My goal is to put up zeroes. You feel like you do that, you put your team in a pretty good position to win. I think that was probably the main stat that I was looking at whenever it came down to me [potentially] winning the Cy Young."
Sources:
“Mets' Jacob deGrom 7th in NL to win 2 straight Cy Youngs”, David Schoenfield, espn.com, November 14, 2019.
“Mets can’t afford to keep wasting Jacob deGrom’s brilliance”, Kevin Kernan, nypost.com, November 14, 2019.
“deGrom runaway NL Cy Young Award winner”, Anthony DiComo, mlb.com, November 14, 2019.
“Jacob deGrom”, baseball-reference.com, November 14, 2019.
