“I felt like we were outnumbered.”
My daughter and me at Truist Park - July 2021
Whether it’s the entire 40-man roster, a Mets fan watching from home or my daughter’s description of walking into Truist Park with the orange NY atop her hat two years ago, we’ve all felt outnumbered against the Atlanta Braves for years, approaching decades.
On the radio, Keith Raad and Pat McCarthy marveled how the Braves just keep coming. They just keep producing players from their minor league system like Michael Harris II. The reigning Rookie of the Year is batting on the Interstate and struck out twice against Max Scherzer Wednesday night.
He also knocked in three RBIs and launched the game-winning two-run homer against Adam Ottavino with 2 outs in the 8th inning as Atlanta claimed the latest series with a come-from-behind 7-5 win.
“We’re a little snakebit right now,” Mets manager Buck Showalter told the New York Post.
My youngest isn’t a baseball fan, but for a day she cheered along with her father for his snake bitten franchise years ago. Years ago, the house of horrors was Fulton County Stadium as Atlanta dominated the division throughout the 1990s thanks in part to Hall of Fame pitchers Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, along with the always angry Bobby Cox.
I’ve left names off like my daughter’s memory from two years ago - July 2, 2021. She recalled the mascot driven race in the middle of the game, but not the dominance of former Met Jacob deGrom who delivered a typical performance after an initial stumble allowing three runs in the first.
I’ve watched many deGrom starts in a Mets uniform and know those will be the best of his career. When news broke that the 2-time Cy Young winner would be lost for the year, my mouth hung open for a full minute. While I did ponder how this news would be received if Billy Eppler had re-signed the 2010 Mets’ ninth-round draft pick, it was more that his career will be unfulfilled due to injury.
Availability is a forgotten and underrated ability for all professional athletes and deGrom was the epitome. When healthy, he was one of the best hurlers in history. Last year, Edwin Diaz dominated with a 98 MPH fastball and a 91 MPH slider. When healthy, deGrom features both pitches with an elite changeup that made him unhittable at times.
Like two years ago after a rough opening frame when deGrom retired 18 Braves in a row, including a stretch of eight consecutive strikeouts. He would strike out 14 for the game, ending the game with a 0.95 ERA for Luis Rojas’ team. He would strike out 10 on July 7 and once again be lost to injury, ending his season with a 1.08 ERA and 146 strikeouts in just 92 innings.
It was the dream of every Mets fan to see the season be completed, for deGrom to prove his two awards weren’t bogus because of a lack of wins. He was half a season away from proving what every Met fan believed. That the converted shortstop still had miles left on an arm that didn’t throw innings in high school or college. That he would be the one arm from the hype of 2015 to actually produce…
“And the Mets lost!”
That was the final result from the game in July 2021. The final result the past two games and what was apparently supposed to end immediately after Steve Cohen purchased the team and Eppler signed players after a 101-win season. Eppler didn’t resign deGrom, not upping his initial offer after the Texas Rangers offered five years. Any true Mets fan saw the length of the deal and knew it was too much.
Too much for a complete stranger starting over his career in a new location. Like when Brooks was released from Shawshank State Prison in the classic film based on a short story by Stephen King. He should have ended his career with the team he’ll forever be remembered with and that’s the truth.
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