Designed by Dalton Allison
Jacob deGrom’s throne, for the better, will be challenged
Over the course of the 2019 season, Jacob deGrom affirmed himself atop the throne of New York pitching. Pound for pound, statistic for statistic, deGrom outperformed every other starter in not only New York, but the entire Senior Circuit. En-route to claiming his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award, deGrom brought himself to an elite level that proved he was worthy of the contract extension that the New York Mets awarded him prior to the beginning of the season. It looked like for the imminent future no one would be able to challenge deGrom for his New York throne, and Mets fans would be able to confidently sit knowing they have the best pitcher in the city.
That sense of comfort changed when the neighbors in the Bronx, the big brother Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324 million contract during the last offseason. This instantly started the debate of who was the best starting pitcher in New York, deGrom or Cole? This is a logical reaction to have to the rival team signing a player of such stature, who plays the same position that your best player plays. And for what it’s worth, the stats between the two pitchers are enough to make even the most casual of baseball fans drool.
Looking at the performance of both pitchers last season, there is a case to be made that they were the two best pitchers in the league last season. Cole lead the American League in ERA last season with the Astros by putting up a mark of 2.50. deGrom, though he did not lead the National League, put up a stronger ERA of 2.43. deGrom recorded 255 strikeouts, but Cole recorded 326. The pitchers are so evenly matched that when you look at their career numbers, that deGrom ranks seventh all-time in strikeouts per nine innings with a mark of 10.2526, right in front of Cole’s mark of 10.0619.
While the debate of who is the better pitcher is one that is certain to capture the minds and voices of sports journalists and talk show hosts throughout the season, there is a clear winner in the situation. The fans of New York baseball teams, and arguably Major League Baseball are clearly winners in Cole’s decision to don the pinstripes.
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