The shocking news of Jacob deGrom getting shut down for the season was a major blow to the Major League Baseball community, and it surprised just about everyone but New York Mets fans.
The former two-time NL Cy Young award winner will now undergo a second Tommy John surgery following another injury to his UCL. Tommy John is the most devastating injury in baseball, and usually happens to pitchers after intense elbow inflammation and tears to the ligament. It will take over a year to return from this, and to have a second successful comeback in a career is extremely rare.
After nine years with the Mets, deGrom left Queens last offseason to take a massive contract with the Texas Rangers. The Mets were hesitant to match the contract and let him walk, after several years of repeated injury concerns. One Mets blogger commented about the shame of the injury, and said no fans should be celebrating that they avoided signing him.
Devastating news for deGrom.
All jokes aside, no Mets fans should be taking a victory lap this is a damn shame.
Biggest question mark was whether he’d have enough time put together a resume for the hall (with a Mets cap)
Now it’s looking like the biggest “What If”
— Kyle Gelling (@KyleGelling) June 6, 2023
As pointed out by MLB reporter Michael Marino of Fantrax, the Mets passed on a similar injury situation with first round draft pick Kumar Rocker, and the same Rangers front office picked him up last year. He succumbed to an identical fate just three weeks ago, forced to receive Tommy John surgery as well.
The Mets had concerns about both Kumar Rocker and Jacob DeGrom’s physicals. The Rangers took a risk aggressively going after both and 2 years later they have both undergone Tommy John, a very tough break for Texas. Wishing a speedy recovery to both.
— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) June 6, 2023
Others lamented on the experience of watching deGrom dominate in the Mets uniform for many years. He was a stalwart in the starting lineup for the better part of six years before the injuries mounted, and his starts brought electricity to the mound in New York.
deGrom Day was must-watch baseball in New York
Injuries are robbing us from enjoying one of the best in the game do his thing and I can’t help but feel bad for him and Texas fans pic.twitter.com/4eJN003JYA
— MetsFanMania (@MetsFanMania) June 6, 2023
One fan took it to another level, commenting that deGrom in his prime was her “forever favorite baseball experience.” Those are heavy words, but for any Mets fan that watched the team during the 2010s, it was certainly a plausible conclusion with the amount of success he had.
Unless the Mets win the World Series in my lifetime, I genuinely think watching Jacob deGrom pitch in his prime will be my forever favorite baseball experience
— Cara Jeffrey (@cara_jeffrey) June 6, 2023
It remains to be seen if deGrom can return to his former Cy Young level, but the vast majority of fans are all wishing him well as he begins a long journey to recovery.