David Wright got a first-hand look inside the greatness of Jacob deGrom — and has the buttonless jersey to prove it.
Rough stretches have come few and far between for the Mets’ back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, but Wright recalled a clubhouse scene during one of them when deGrom’s intensity boiled over.
“He came in after his second or third poor start, which is shocking that he’d have that many poor starts, and he ripped his jersey off,” the former Mets captain said recently on an episode of SNY’s “The Cookie Club” with Steve Gelbs. “Buttons are flying everywhere and he just threw it in the middle of the ground. I’m being serious, but from afar, I’m trying not to laugh. So then he tries to pull off his Nike shirt and he’s trying to Hulk Hogan it. He’s going, he’s going, he’s going and it won’t rip. So finally, he just sits in his chair and he looks at me and goes, ‘I give up.’
“To this day, I took the jersey that he ripped off with the buttons. I have it somewhere and I’m going to put it in my memorabilia — I want Jake to sign that one for me.”
Wright and deGrom were teammates for five seasons, during which deGrom established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game. The right-hander has posted a 2.62 ERA, including a miniscule 1.70 ERA in 2018, which was the lowest in the majors.
While his arsenal of high-90 mph fastballs, nasty changeups and devastating sliders certainly help, it’s only part of the equation when deGrom takes the mound.
“The fire that Jake has is from within and he takes it personal,” Wright said. “When he’s on the mound, it’s like a mano-y-mano thing where not only does he want to beat you, but he wants to embarrass you. That’s a different level.
“Jake is a different type of intense. The fire that burns within him is amazing. And it’s not like outwardly, where you’re not going to see him break a lot of stuff, although I do have a great memento from Jake.”