After spending the first nine seasons of his career with the New York Mets, pitcher Jacob deGrom signed with the Texas Rangers last offseason.
His split with the Mets was less than civil, as fans insisted the right-hander couldn’t wait to leave New York and was withdrawn from the team toward the end of his tenure.
Speaking to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, deGrom fired back at Mets fans who continued to insist that, saying, “I don’t like it when people say that because that’s not true. You know me pretty well — I like to pitch and that’s about it. I understand the other stuff that comes with it, but what I want to do is take the field, play, and then get ready for the next time I play. I felt like I did that in New York.”
deGrom, who is currently on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery over the summer, won two Cy Young Awards and Rookie of the Year honors in his time with the Mets. He’s also the franchise’s all-time ERA leader and has the fourth-most strikeouts of any Met.
He also cleared up rumors that he was mad about the five-year, $137 million extension he previously signed with the Mets. deGrom’s former agent Brodie Van Wagnen was the team’s general manager at the time and many saw the deal as well below market value for the then-reigning NL Cy Young Award winner.
“If you would have told me at the start of my career I would have received that kind of contract, I wouldn’t have believed it — that is life-changing money, so to say I was upset is wrong,” deGrom said.
