Watching Jacob deGrom Be Reduced To Tears As He Talked About Needing Tommy John Surgery Was Straight Up Gut-Wrenching
Yesterday Jacob deGrom was given the terrible news that he once again needs to undergo Tommy John surgery. Clem covered it here but I couldn't help but discuss the video of him interacting with the media afterwards. About as raw of a reaction as you'll get from an athlete in his spot.
Gut-wrenching. Now it's going to be tough for anyone to truly feel bad for a guy who has made $100 mill to date and when his career is all said and done will have raked in over $300 million. That being said, the "what if" factor for deGrom must be impossible to handle for him. When he's on the mound he's the best pitcher in baseball. Hands down, there's no one better than him when he's out there doing his thing. His first half in 2021 was legitimately one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed in sports. Dude took the mound every fifth day and destroyed whatever opposing lineup faced him.
In classic deGrom style his body refused to hold up for the entire year. He was on a fast track for the Hall of Fame, but these last three years have seemingly derailed all of that. Now with Texas, a team that has taken the American League by storm in 2023, he was positioned perfectly to lead this rotation into the postseason and make a real run at it. It's all come crumbling down and you can see what it means to him. It's straight up depressing to watch those videos above. You can see how badly he wants to be out there with his teammates to try and win baseball games. His body just will not allow it.
We really got robbed of two electrifying, show-stopping pitchers in the last 5-10 years —Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg. Two pitchers who forced you to watch them with how good they were. One guy we probably never see on a mound ever again in Strasburg with his nerve damage issues. With deGrom it's a mystery as well. It's so hard to come back from two TJs and regain anywhere close to your normal form. deGrom will be attempting to do that at 35 years old late next year. We'll see him again, but in what state and for how long? The last part of that question sums up the man's entire career, for how long?