Jacob deform fell just short of winning his third straight NL Cy Young Award in 2020, but the Mets’ ace took home a different honor on Wednesday night, earning First-Team All-MLB honors.
DeGrom joined 2020 NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, Yu Darvish, and Max Fried in the five-man rotation, but he is the only pitcher to make the All-MLB team two seasons in a row.
No surprise here!
de? has been named to the All-MLB First Team. #LGM pic.twitter.com/gNyYErwC3U
— New York Mets (@Mets) December 10, 2020
The All-MLB honors were established in 2019, with the selection process split between votes from fans a panel of experts.
Many of deGrom’s numbers in 2020 were actually better than those he had in 2019, when he won his second Cy Young. DeGrom pitched to a 2.38 ERA with a 0.956 WHIP and 2.26 FIP this past season, setting a new career high with 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 32-year-old right-hander seemed to take his game to a new level in 2020, routinely hitting 100 mph with his fastball, a noticeable uptick from his velocity in previous years.
Unfortunately for deGrom, Cincinnati Reds starter and now-free agent Trevor Bauer was lights-out in 2020, taking home the Cy Young. Now Mets fans can only sit back and wait as the Mets potentially take a run at having both aces in their rotation come the start of the 2021 season.
One other Met also took home All-MLB honors, as outfielder Michael Conforto was named to the Second Team.
Conforto posted some of the best numbers of his career in 2020, taking a big step forward towards being the star the Mets have always hoped he’d eventually become. Conforto slashed .322/.412/.515 with nine home runs and 31 RBI in 54 games last season.
Congrats to Jacob deGrom (1st Team) and @MConforto8 (2nd Team) for being named to the All-MLB Team. #LGM pic.twitter.com/zfIqCfcxt7
— New York Mets (@Mets) December 10, 2020
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].