I’ve always admired Jacob deGrom. I like his style and talent and despite not being a Mets fan I love watching him pitch. Little did I know that the would-be shortstop from Stetson, who reluctantly became a pitcher, is in part where he is because of an appearance in Athens vs the Dawgs. While in Atlanta this weekend covering the Braves-Mets, Buster Olney of ESPN wrote an interesting article about deGrom. Steve Barningham of the Mets scouting organization witnessed him first in 2010 in Athens. From the article:
********
The University of Georgia had some pitching prospects that Barningham needed to see, and one weekend at the end of February, the Bulldogs hosted Stetson in a three-game series -- a Georgia sweep, as it turned out. DeGrom was still serving in the role of Stetson's would-be closer, but with Stetson losing again in the eighth inning in the final game of the weekend, Dunn called on deGrom to pitch in relief, with Barningham sitting and watching from behind home plate. Almost all of the crowd had cleared out on an afternoon of near-freezing temperatures.
DeGrom threw one inning, enough to generate an instant comparable in Barningham's mind. "He looked like Pedro Martinez -- the same delivery as Pedro Martinez," Barningham recalled. "I've got a 6-foot-4 guy on the mound who looks like Pedro Martinez."
In that moment, Barningham recognized why Parker and Nichols had been screaming about why they loved the Stetson shortstop who couldn't hit that much.
********
The Mets went on to draft deGrom in the 9th round in 2010 and the rest as they say is history.
Link to complete article
(espn+)
********
The University of Georgia had some pitching prospects that Barningham needed to see, and one weekend at the end of February, the Bulldogs hosted Stetson in a three-game series -- a Georgia sweep, as it turned out. DeGrom was still serving in the role of Stetson's would-be closer, but with Stetson losing again in the eighth inning in the final game of the weekend, Dunn called on deGrom to pitch in relief, with Barningham sitting and watching from behind home plate. Almost all of the crowd had cleared out on an afternoon of near-freezing temperatures.
DeGrom threw one inning, enough to generate an instant comparable in Barningham's mind. "He looked like Pedro Martinez -- the same delivery as Pedro Martinez," Barningham recalled. "I've got a 6-foot-4 guy on the mound who looks like Pedro Martinez."
In that moment, Barningham recognized why Parker and Nichols had been screaming about why they loved the Stetson shortstop who couldn't hit that much.
********
The Mets went on to draft deGrom in the 9th round in 2010 and the rest as they say is history.
Link to complete article
(espn+)
