deGrom and Scherzer: The Greatest Pitching Duo Ever?

Introduction: A Monday morning in late November during the MLB offseason should not bring that much excitement to the casual baseball fan. This year though, the offseason has a different feel, as deals are getting done earlier and faster due to the CBA deadline next week. Deals are getting done left and right, as Steven Matz is going to Cardinals, Marcus Semien to the Rangers, Kevin Gausman to the Blue Jays, Corey Seager to the Rangers, etc. The aforementioned Monday morning seemed to bring an explosion to the MLB landscape, as Max Scherzer signed with the New York Mets. As soon as I heard the news, I knew I had to write about it as fast as I could. Below, is my breakdown of the Scherzer signing and what it means for the Mets and the rest of the league. Let's roll!!!

When Max Scherzer entered free-agency this offseason, I knew that he would probably end up in a different uniform in 2022. With the Cardinals, Mets, and a few other teams being a potential landing spot, a few thoughts went through my head: Scherzer goes to his hometown team, the Cardinals, Scherzer resigns with the Dodgers, or Scherzer and deGrom, my favorite pitchers, team up, and form an unstoppable duo atop the Mets rotation.

Anyone who has watched baseball consistently for the past several years knows that Max Scherzer is always in the conversation for the league's best pitcher. So, when the Mets and Scherzer agreed to a $130 million contract over three years, I knew that soon I am going to witness something very special. The rest of the Mets rotation is pretty mediocre, (Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco, David Peterson) but those two beasts can carry a team to the playoffs and potentially more. With the Mets losing Noah Syndergaard to the Angels, deGrom needed someone else in the rotation to provide consistent numbers. The word "help" is almost laughable here, simply because Max Scherzer is a team's number one arm on literally any other team in the league. Scherzer, Mad Max, Blue Eye, or whatever you want to call him, is a Hall of Famer with gas left in the tank. According to the contract, Scherzer can opt out after the second season, as he will make $43.3 million per year.

As I have mentioned before in previous posts, Scherzer was my favorite pitcher for two years until Jacob deGrom took the honor. So as you would imagine, for them to be on the same team, at the same time is almost like a dream come true.

Combined, deGrom and Scherzer have won five Cy Young awards and have collected over 4,000 strikeouts in their careers. Below, I have provided headshots as well as some career numbers and accolades of Jake and Max to give you all a better picture of how great these two are.

deGrom

Jacob deGrom: GS 198, 1261.2 IP, 77-53 W-L, 1505 SO, 2.50 ERA, 1.011 WHIP, 10.7 SO/9

- Rookie of the Year (2014)

- 2x Cy Young (2018 and 2019 with NYM)

- 4x All-Star

- ERA Title

Scherzer

Max Scherzer: GS 398, 2536.2 IP, 190-97 W-L, 3020 SO, 3.16 ERA, 1.084 WHIP, 10.7 SO/9

-3x Cy Young (2013 with DET, 2016 and 2017 with WSH)

- 8x All Star

- 2019 World Series Champion

Looking at the stat lines of the two pitchers is something that I could do for a long time. The numbers these two men have put up over their careers are breathtaking, as I consider these two to be the best of my generation. Scherzer has been in the league six more seasons than deGrom, which is why the numbers are a bit more lopsided.

Aside from the statistics, when looking at Scherzer's headshot, you cannot help but look at his eyes, which is something that I find very fascinating that one is blue, while the other is brown. When on the mound, Max is like a mad man. Whether it be spitting, stalking the mound, or groaning when throwing a pitch, he is a workhorse. During my first few years of playing fantasy baseball, Scherzer was my ace, as he never disappointed.

When it comes to Jacob deGrom, I could write and write and write some more about how great he is. No offense to Scherzer, but deGrom is the best I have ever seen from a pitching perspective over all the years that I have been watching baseball. Jacob deGrom is about a sure of a bet as ever to get the job done on the mound. Barring any injury of course, he is the best pitcher in the game and it is not even close. The way he delivers the ball is like a work of art, as I love everything about his mechanics. Cutting his hair prior to the 2018 season is the best thing he ever did, as his game reached a whole other level, as he won two consecutive Cy Youngs and his pitch velocity went up in the process. Personally, no one is on Jake's level, as I have never seen such dominance from a starting pitcher.

The Scherzer signing helps the Mets out tremendously, as they have already signed Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar. A lineup that would feature Marte at the top of the order with middle of the order threat Pete Alonso tells me that Mets owner Steve Cohen and the whole Mets organization is going all in. Having two future Hall of Famers at the top of a rotation is something that I consider to be rare. With that in mind, my brain went immediately to other historic pitching duos. Below, I have provided some notable pitching duos from baseball history

Dodgers-Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale

Mets- Dwight Gooden and David Cone

Braves- Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux

D-Backs- Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling

Phillies- Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee

Astros- Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole

These duos were quite good, as it will be interesting to see where the deGrom/Scherzer combo stacks up against them.

In my lifetime of 20 years on Earth, I cannot remember such a duo as powerful as deGrom and Scherzer. Sure, there was Kershaw and Greinke, Verlander and Cole, etc. but these two reach a whole other level. Granted, they have not pitched on the same team yet, but after watching them season after season, I know what each of them can bring to the table. Whether it is deGrom's 95 MPH slider or Scherzer's intimidation factor, this is going to be must-see TV every outing they either one of them takes the hill. SNY, the Mets TV network, might as well be nationally televised next season, as I bet the majority of fans will want to see these two pitch every fifth day.

The rest of the league, specifically the NL East should be put on notice. In all seriousness, each time these two pitch the Mets should win every game. But of course the results will not be the same, as the Mets offense will probably not score, bullpen blowups will occur, and we will all be frustrated with how the game ended. The Mets should be taken seriously going into the season, as they look to advance far into the playoffs and maybe even win the World Series.

deGromination

Subscriber Note: If you want, feel free to subscribe to my blog for free on my Home or Blog page, as this is completely up to you. I wish there was some sort of "Subscribe" button to insert into my posts, as the majority of people just click on my individual post and never go to my home page and never see my subscribe box. As a result, this is completely my fault, as I intend to let people know from here on out at the bottom of each post how to subscribe if they want to do so. As always, anyone who reads my posts and takes time out of their day to read them are awesome, as I cannot put into words of how much your support means to me!

Final Thoughts: I hope you all have enjoyed reading my article on the Scherzer signing. This is something that I thought that I would never see, as I do not have to cheer for one or the other when they pitch against each other at least for the next two years. The deGrom and Scherzer duo is going to have on impact on baseball forever!!!

See You at the Ballpark!!!

Adam