Reese Kaplan -- Some Good to Take Out of a Bad Opening Day

While a lot of time (well, 48 hours) has passed since the debacle of a delayed start to the Mets season on Monday night against the Phillies, there were actually some positives that took place during that catastrophe worth examining with an eye towards the future of the 2021 season.  We’re not here to blast the bullpen, to lambaste the manager's curious decision making nor to crucify the defensive miscues that cost them five runs in the bottom of the 8th inning.  What happened is history and you can’t change it.  Instead, let’s take a look at some of the good.  

Jacob deGrom is an absolute joy to watch.  Statistics revealed his love affair with his own fastball which hit all time record levels of use, but he also made some folks look silly when he did rely on the breaking stuff to freeze bats and buckle knees.  If they could pitch him every single day it wouldn’t take one iota of intrigue away from the spectacle of a Mets game.

While the announcers extolled deGrom for how good his rarely used curveball is and his bad luck at never getting the run support he requires in order to get into the victory column, there was an aspect of his overall package that was not addressed at all.  Many of us are old enough to remember what it was like to see Tom Seaver or Doc Gooden take the hill for what was surely going to be a well pitched win for the Mets.  However, neither of them were free of controversy.  

Now in Seaver’s case, most of the controversy was not of his own making.  He was absolutely adored by the fans.  The whole “Tom and Nancy Seaver” phenomenon took on the grandeur of a J-Rod or other celebrity couple whose decisions where to go and what to have for dinner took on exaggerated importance.

No, Seaver’s issue was the fact he wanted to stand up to the team ownership.  He was not being unreasonable.  His pitching was unparalleled for the Mets and surely was in the top three in the major leagues, yet the Mets felt compelled to crack the whip of ownership rules onto him for suggesting he be paid at least a comparable salary to inferior players on other clubs. 

Enlisting the aid of Daily News columnist Dick Young, Seaver was painted as greedy and a troublemaker which lead to the great midnight massacre during which the team decided to teach the man a lesson by banishing him to Cincinnati.  Yup, that was a major mistake.

With Doc Gooden the Mets were in a very different situation.  No one can forget the huge mural painted in midtown Manhattan showing the young man hurling with ferocity, striking batters out with aplomb and carrying the team on his back on their way to the 1986 World Series championship.  

Unfortunately, Gooden’s absence from the downtown ticker tape parade in celebration of that victory was a signal that his personal maturity level wasn’t commensurate with his talent.  The stories about substance abuse, personal relationship problems and conduct unbecoming a professional ballplayer that swiftly moved him from hero to transgressor.  The pain was so great that he never became the punchline of jokes, but rather a forever grating reminder of what might have been.  

With deGrom, the Mets have someone who put together his second career as a pitcher a bit late.  After suffering from arm issues as a minor leaguer, he worked his way up the ladder not as the top prospect in the system, but a credible person to trot out to the mound when the club had its back up against the wall with injuries and was in need of a temporary fix at starting pitcher. 

Much to everyone’s surprise, deGrom was far better in the majors than he showed in the minors and has seemingly just improved year after year, increasing his velocity and striking fear into the batters he faces.

Did you ever notice that deGrom conducts himself without the harsh criticism of the media, and without succumbing to the temptation of an ill-advised personal life?  He has put together the kind of career people expected from Seaver and Gooden without the corresponding off-the-field issues that hampered their aggregate output. 

Even Hall of Famer Seaver arrived in Cooperstown after posting a record of 311-205 with a lifelong ERA of just 2.86.  After starting his major league career late at age 26, deGrom will never hit the victory totals Seaver enjoyed, currently at just 70-51, but has done so with an often second-rate team while pitching to a superior 2.60 ERA over his now 8 years in the majors.  Wow!

Let’s close with one further positive to come out of that opening day disaster.  When the Mets came to bat in the 9th inning, no one expected much out of them at all.  Sure enough, they succumbed quickly to two outs and no one on, down by three runs.  Then what happened next didn’t result in victory, but it was indeed unusual by Mets standards. 

First we saw Kevin Pillar get on first base.  Then Francisco Lindor singled to put runners at 1st and second, bringing up Michael Conforto as the surprising tying run at the plate.  He hit a drive to right field, semi-mishandled by Bryce Harper and one run was across, narrowing the gap to 5-3.  That put tying men on base and go-ahead run at the plate in the form of Pete Alonso. 

He crushed a pitch to the opposite field which Harper caught against the wall to seal the victory for the Phillies, but unlike many Mets teams of the past, they did not appear to give up after the highly forgettable 8th inning barrage of hitting and errors that resulted in their 5-2 deficit.  Hopefully that hard working effort will continue in the future.