The 2021 season is a long way from its end, but Jacob deGrom sure seems like he is on his way to an epic season, and perhaps to accomplish a feat that has never been done before. Specifically, that would be deGrom winning the Cy Young, MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards all in the same season.
One might wonder if it’s foolish to look ahead so far, but in sports that is not all that unusual. For example, you can bet that the day after the 2021 NFL draft is done, some sportswriter will post a mock draft for the 2022 event. So in that context, it is not out of line to look ahead at deGrom and his prospects for an epic season.
deGrom’s pitching stats are off the chart this year, and surely anyone handicapping the Cy Young battle would have to put him at the top of the list of favorites. His stats in his first four starts have been eye-popping, like a microscopic ERA of 0.31, a WHIP of 0.55, and 50 K’s racked up already. Batters are managing just .134 BA against him. deGrom has been remarkably consistent for the past few seasons, and he hauled home Cy Young hardware twice, in 2018 and 2019. At this point it would almost be a surprise if he did not win the Cy Young.
As to the Silver Slugger, that award has only been around since 1980 and goes to the best offensive player at each position. So far deGrom is crushing the ball with a slash line of .545/.545/.636, with 1 double, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. No one could keep up that kind of production but a batting average in the high 200s with some power could do it, for a pitcher, and deGrom certainly has a running start.
The Gold Glove goes of course to the best fielder at each position. deGrom was a shortstop in college and he’s pretty athletic. He’s played errorless ball so far and he has a DRS of +1 this season so far in a small sample, and his lifetime figure is +6. He may not be the favorite, but he has a chance of winning that award for the first time.
The MVP award is given to the most outstanding player in each league, and it is relatively rare for a pitcher to win it. If deGrom wins the Cy Young he will at least be in the discussion for the MVP, especially if the Mets make the postseason, even more so if they win the division.
The closest anyone has come to sweeping all four awards in one season was Bob Gibson in 1968. He won the Cy Young, the MVP and the Gold Glove that year. He was generally a good hitting pitcher but the Silver Slugger Award would not debut until 1980, so he could not have won that. Even if they had given out a Silver Slugger in ‘68, Gibson’s line was only .170/.233/.223, so he probably would not have won it even if it existed then.
If deGrom or some other pitcher does not sweep the four awards this year, the window of opportunity for any pitcher to accomplish the feat may well close, if MLB decides to have the designated hitter in both leagues.
Winning all four awards would be a wonderful accomplishment, but there is one honor deGrom would probably appreciate even more… a 2021 World Series ring.
Gibson certainly shouldn’t have won a Silver Slugger in ’68, if one existed. But who knows if his reputation would have won it for him.
Rick Wise, who was a very good hitter for a pitcher, should have earned it. He had 2 HR and a .727 OPS. Or maybe it would have gone to future Met George Stone, who had a .333 AVG, albeit in only 29 PA.
Maybe not quite up there with Jake, but how about the 1912 stats for “Smoky Joe” Wood? And why doesn’t de Grom have a cool nickname?
In 1912, Wood’s pitching stats were 34-5, 1.91 ERA (ERA+ 1.77), 35 CG, 10 Shutouts, 1 Save, 259 SO and 82 BB in 344 Innings.
As a batter, he slashed .290/.348/.435 in 141 PA. His OPS+ was 120.
As a fielder that year, Wood’s fielding percentage was .974, which was well above the league’s average for pitchers of .940. And his range factor was .395 (compared with .296 for the league then).
He came in 5th in the MVP (i.e., Chalmers Award) balloting, behind Tris Speaker, Ed Walsh, Walter Johnson, and Clyde Milan.
His WAR that year was 11.4 (1.3 of that for his batting).
Thanks for the research and the unique information Steve.
My pleasure, Metsense!
Don Drysdale was also a great hitter… but I remember Gibson as a man among boys. Everything he did was superior. I remember him beating the Mets in a game with a double in the gap… broke their backs… he could have played anywhere on a team.
Let’s hope JdG gets every opportunity…
Jake D. Great?
I posted this elsewhere, but it’s more fitting here…Only 2 MLB players have ever won Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP. Neither is in the HOF.
without looking it up, Don Newcombe is one, don’t know the other
I think it’s Vida Blue. I know he won MVP, not sure about the other two, but MVP seems to be the big hurdle.
My guess is Justin Verlander
Also, has anyone else noticed that JdG’s ERA+ is currently 1233?!
You are correct, Justin Verlander and Don Newcomb are the two pitchers who are not in the Hall of Fame
Pretty sure that Newk is in the HOF
Big Newk is not in the HOF, having never received more than 15.3 percent from the writers and not getting in with the Vets Committee later.
He was a top pitcher for more than half-a-dozen years in the late 1940s and 1950s, and lost two his prime years to military service during the Korean War. But he was no de Grom as a pitcher. Even in his Cy Young year of 1955, his ERA+ was 131. And his lifetime ERA+ was 114.
He was a great hitter though. I saw him hit two HR in a game and he batted cleanup in another game I saw. In 1955, he batted .359/.395/.632 and his OPS+ was 164! He PH in over 20 games that year!
Sorry, his CY/MVP year was 1956 (not 1955).
Love that my fellow wise fans on here got the answer. Newk was terrific in his prime, but he missed a few seasons to fight in the war and retired at just 34 so he didn’t make the HOF cut. He’s in select company with a handful of pitchers who were great but didn’t have the longevity like Lincecum, Santana, Gooden, et al The exception is if you can get 3 CYs like Koufax (and hopefully deGrom), then you can punch your ticket without the big counting numbers.