Numbers never lie: Jacob deGrom off to hottest start by a pitcher since 1964

New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom is making a compelling case for 2021 NL MVP already.

A third Cy Young Award may not be enough to fully encapsulate what Jacob deGrom is doing for the New York Mets this season.

DeGrom’s Mets hold a 3.5-game lead over the rival Atlanta Braves in the NL East standings. While offensive issues have long plagued this Senior Circuit club, deGrom is more than doing his part to get the Amazins back into the postseason picture. He boasts a 4-2 record with an otherworldly 0.71 ERA in eight starts this season. Maybe even more impressive, he is hitting .450 at the plate.

DeGrom is making a compelling case for being the National League’s version of Shohei Ohtani.

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New York Mets: Jacob deGrom is off to the hottest start by a pitcher since 1964

With every 100-plus mile-per-hour fastball rocketing out of his right arm, deGrom is reasserting to everyone in baseball who the best pitcher in the sport is. While he rarely throws his elite curveball, he is so throughly dominant on the mound that he never needs to use it. And even if the National League has come around to the idea of a DH, deGrom is doing his part to nix that notion.

Ultimately, the Mets are getting absurd production out of one of the best players in baseball every fifth day. Frankly, if the offense sputters and is in need of a spark, why not put the former Stetson Hatter at his first position of shortstop just to get his hot bat in the lineup? Okay, I’m joking here, but what deGrom is doing this year has not been done by a pitcher since the 1964 MLB season.

We have to wonder where the Mets would even be without its best player deGrom this season.