Why Jacob deGrom can win NL MVP in a shortened season
By Matt Graves
Jacob DeGrom enters the 2020 season as the reigning NL CY Young Award winner. He’s also a leading candidate for the NL MVP.
It’s hard to argue against Jacob deGrom. The New York Mets ace has a career 2.62 ERA with a 66-49 record and 1255 strikeouts. He might as well be the best draft pick in Mets history.
deGrom could very well win a third CY Young Award in 2020 or beyond. Although, he’s yet to win the NL MVP Award in his career. He’s established himself as one of the most lethal pitchers, especially in the last two seasons. With that being said, let’s make the case as to why deGrom could win MVP.
It could happen, and I would like to admit that deGrom has a more durable case than you think.
What if deGrom is the Most Valuable Player in the NL?
Over the last two seasons, deGrom has finished in the top ten of the NL MVP voting. In 2018, deGrom finished the season 10-9 with a 1.70 ERA, which led the majors. Only 16 pitchers have thrown 200 or more innings with an ERA under 2.00 since the pitcher’s mound was lowered in 1968. Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez all did it twice in their careers,
deGrom also led the majors with the lowest home run per nine innings (0.41). His ten wins were the fewest by any Cy Young Award winner. His performance would be good enough to finish fifth in NL MVP voting. deGrom was the only player other than Christian Yelich to receive a first-place vote.
However, 2019 was a little different for the three-time All-Star. Entering the second half, deGrom had a 4-7 record with a 3.27 ERA and 138 strikeouts. He would turn it around in the second half of the season. deGrom posted a 7-1 record with a 1.44 ERA while striking out 117 batters. He finished the season tenth in MVP voting. Additionally, he had a11-8 with a 2.43 ERA and 255 strikeouts. In a near-unanimous vote, deGrom became just the 11th pitcher in MLB history to win-back-to-back CY Young Awards.
You could argue that deGrom should have been considered for the NL MVP in 2018. At the plate, hitters have posted a .221/.271/.334 slash line against him. He was the highest-ranked pitcher to be voted, sitting ahead of Max Scherzer and Jack Flaherty. Unfortunately, the Mets didn’t win most of the deGrom’s outstanding starts.
It’s not his fault, and it doesn’t make sense to blame deGrom for the lackluster performance of his teammates. If I’m not mistaken, the MVP is an individual award, given to an individual player. According to the BBWA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America), all players are eligible for MVP. That’s including pitchers and designated hitters.
Interestingly enough, only seven players from losing teams have won the MVP Award. The most recent two of those winners were Mike Trout in 2016 and Giancarlo Stanton in 2017.
Some of the best pitcher seasons we’ve seen in recent years haven’t been strongly considered for MVP support. Just look at the history of the MVP award and its recipients, numerous pitchers took home the top honor.
The thing is, deGrom wasn’t the only pitcher up against a clear bias. In the 2017 AL MVP voting, Corey Kluber was left off seven of 30 ballots, whereas Chris Sale was left off 15. In the NL MVP voting, Max Scherzer was left 18, and again the previous year. Even Madison Bumgarner was left off 28, that’s absurd.
The old “pitchers shouldn’t win MVP” excuse should be no more. It’s time to change that, and deGrom, who’s been one of the most consistent pitchers in the game, could be the pitcher to turn the tide.
The NL has a ton of potential MVP candidates. Interestingly enough, there are multiple pitchers who’ve won the award, including Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander. In my opinion, deGrom has been the best overall player in the NL. He’d get my vote for NL MVP.