New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom has the best ERA in baseball this season — and, thanks to his team’s horrible run support, just eight wins.
Those eight wins could hinder what might otherwise be a leading Cy Young candidacy, but deGrom isn’t sweating it too much. He’s also not bothered by the lack of run support.
Why? According to him, he got used to it when he first came to the big leagues and failed to win any of his first seven starts.
“In 2014, when I came up, I threw the ball pretty well and I could not get a win [none in his first seven starts],” deGrom told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. “I had a couple of starts that weren’t so good, and I started thinking about it. I learned from that to go out there and control what I can control. That means what am I about to throw and where am I about to throw it. I honestly think that was a big help for me.”
deGrom also admitted he does his best to tune out the Cy Young chatter.
“I am not thinking about it when I am out there,” deGrom said. “That is just how I take the mound. The goal is not to give up any runs, so it is me against you. This is what I have, let me see if you can hit it. Here we go. That’s how I take the mound. Honestly, it has not changed, even with the increased talk of Cy Young.”
deGrom has received such little run support that one of his teammates apologized to him for it. It could end up costing him some prestigious hardware, but it doesn’t sound like deGrom will be holding a grudge.
