Texas Rangers Tribute to Jacob deGrom at Citi Field
NEW YORK — Two years ago, the Texas Rangers visited Citi Field late in the summer, en route to securing a World Series championship. Jacob deGrom was not with them, having recently undergone Tommy John surgery. Concerned about his recovery, he had stayed away from the team’s lively dugouts.
“It’s like ‘Stay out of the way to avoid a random high five,’” deGrom noted with a smile on Friday night. “It’s probably not ideal.” This time around, however, the atmosphere was different: there were high fives, warm embraces, and a video tribute celebrating deGrom as the greatest Mets pitcher of the last thirty years. His stellar performance of seven solid innings contributed to an 8-3 victory, highlighting the Rangers’ surprising playoff surge while the Mets flounder.
The Mets are currently struggling, having lost seven consecutive games and ten out of their last thirteen. They are barely clinging to a playoff spot in the National League. In contrast, the Rangers have been on a roll, winning 17 of their last 24 games as they strive to reach the American League postseason.
“There’s a lot of fight in the team,” said Merrill Kelly, a recent acquisition from the Arizona Diamondbacks. “With the challenges we faced, it would have been easy to give up, but we’ve kept pushing forward.” Despite initially having a strong pitching lineup, the Rangers added Kelly as a precaution, which has proved wise after Nate Eovaldi’s injury sidelined him for the season.
The Mets, under new management led by David Stearns, focused heavily on bolstering their bullpen and relied on their farm system to compensate for a fragile starting rotation. Unfortunately, this strategy has backfired, as some recent additions underperformed and key trades cost them promising players, leaving them in a challenging position.
Everything seems to be going wrong for the Mets. They haven’t drawn a walk since Wednesday, and their past performances have been disappointing. In fact, they went 1,000 games without suffering an early failure like giving up six earned runs in the first inning before their recent game against Texas. It’s been a stark contrast to deGrom’s prime days, where he often received minimal offensive support.
DeGrom, the ace of the Mets during his tenure, now has 12 wins this season—his best total in eight years. This performance, along with his impressive statistics since returning from injury, reignites hopes of a Hall of Fame career, especially as he continues to pitch well while battling through pain and setbacks. His family was present to witness this triumphant moment, and deGrom expressed a desire to keep playing for several more years, fully aware of how much the game means to him now.
