The New York Mets’ star pitcher Jacob deGrom set a modern era record on Monday night after surrendering just one run against the LA Dodgers to make it 25 consecutive pitches with three or fewer runs.
deGrom joins Dwight Gooden in a prestigious class of MLB record holders. In 1985, Gooden broke a one and a half decade long record set in 1969 by stringing 24 consecutive pitches with three or fewer runs. Before 1969, the feat was achieved in 1913, when none of the current MLB players was born.
Never mind that his franchise never won, deGrom will be entering history books as one of the best pitchers in modern baseball. The 30-year old made sure to hit a gem that allowed two hits and one earned run before leaving the field while the game was on a 1-1 tie.
After he left, the Dodgers made it to a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning thanks to a Brandon Nimmo three-run home run. Individually, deGrom leads MLB pitchers with 7.3 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) stats. His team though has averaged one of the fewest runs in the league, 3.43—which was the second lowest by Monday morning as per ESPN.
deGrom’s record-tying feat is a testament that he may be the most deserving pitcher to win the National League Cy Young award. After all, Felix Hernandez won the title in 2010 in spite of an average record throughout the season.
