For more than a decade, Freddie Freeman has been one of the best hitters in baseball, tormenting the best pitchers in the sport day after day. From Max Scherzer to Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Stephen Strasburg, the Braves first baseman has responded. , making life difficult for even the most dominant ace.
Freeman is in the midst of another stellar season in 2021, bringing out the best of all National League pitchers. Well, most of them at least.
When Jacob deGrom is the one facing him 60 feet, 6 inches away, Freeman would rather be anywhere else.
“We had a game that was suspended due to rain,” Freeman said. “It was the best day of my life”.
deGrom has been a powerhouse this season, beating rivals like no one has since Pedro Martinez was in his prime. The Mets ace decided not to participate in the All-Star Game in order to rest his body, after having problems with his elbow, back and right shoulder in the first half.
The right-hander leads the majors with a 1.08 ERA, 0.543 WHIP, 1.1 walks per nine innings and 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings, among other categories. His 146 strikeouts are second only to Gerrit Cole’s 147. deGrom is averaging 99.1 mph on the fastball, while his 91.5 mph slider is second best, behind only Zack Wheeler of the Phillies.
“I don’t know how he could get to another level, but he did,” confessed Wheeler, who shared with deGrom on the Mets between 2014 and 2019. “It’s fun to hear guys talk about him and how he throws. I always saw it, but I guess at the time I took it for granted. “
While the rest of the all-star pitchers raved about deGrom’s stellar season, the batters in Denver had a different reaction. Virtually everyone called to the All-Star Game laughed at deGrom’s name, as they searched for the words to describe what it meant to face him.
“It’s like being in the Nightmare on Elm Street; facing Freddy Krueger, ”confessed Red Sox designated hitter JD Martinez. “He has an explosive fastball that doesn’t fail, puts it where he wants it and mixes it with other slower pitches that he uses to trick you. It’s not funny”.
“You just try to defend yourself as best you can,” said Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth. “He’s on his own level. He is on another planet ”.
Several of the most talented hitters in the world spoke about how difficult it is to face deGrom during the seasons in which he has won the Cy Young. As difficult as it was, hitting it didn’t feel like an impossible thing. Now? Standing at the plate against deGrom can be demoralizing.
“I remember facing him when he was pitching 94 and it was really hard to hit him,” said Nationals shortstop Trea Turner. “Then it started throwing 96, 98 and now it basically goes to 100 every time. It seems to drop the ball near the plate. In addition, he has two good pitches to accompany the fastball. It seems to get better and better. That is not good news for us. ”
“Honestly, if you put the ball in play, you feel good about the turn you had,” said the Phillies mask JT Realmuto. “He is too dominant now. He’s got a great fastball and slider combination that he can control so well from the side of the plate, and he doesn’t have to work too hard. Basically you have to choose one and hope to get it right and the location to fail a little ”.
There’s only one problem with that plan: deGrom rarely fails.
“He’s throwing 100 and it looks like it’s going to be a ball, but suddenly you look and it fell into the zone,” Freeman said. “How do you hit that? You don’t, obviously. If you get a walk and break your bat and sometimes hit a hit, you’re happy. We barely faced him and I struck out three times. I gave a foul and said to myself, ‘Okay, I’ll take it.’
“He’s on another level,” confessed Padres third baseman Manny Machado. “I faced him a couple of years ago and now he is not the same. It has improved a lot more ”.
Opponents hit just .126 / .157 / .239 against deGrom on the year, have struck out 146 times and have only traded 11 walks.
“I feel bad for some guys that have to face him,” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said. “Its consistency and greatness is something that you just don’t see. Some may have an outing or two in a row and then hit a bump. But he is like this constantly. Seeing it on a daily basis is impressive ”.
deGrom has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 starts and while no one is ready to compare him to Shohei Ohtani at the plate, deGrom is hitting .364 with six RBIs to help his own cause.
“At one point he had more RBIs than runs allowed,” Machado said. “That tells you everything about him.”
Alonso is also grateful that he doesn’t have to face deGrom in big games, but he does stand at the plate against him in camp, giving him a taste of the challenge opposing hitters have this season.
“It’s not fun, but being able to face Jake early helps me a lot to prepare for the season,” Alonso said. “I’m going to have to face the best at the top of their conditions. I need that experience ”.
What is that experience exactly like? We asked numerous stars a simple question: What does a successful at-bat look like against deGrom?
“Don’t strike out every time,” Turner said. “If you can put a few balls in play, you’re doing fine.”
“Don’t strike out,” Cronenworth said. “Touch the ball.”
“You expect me to give you a ticket,” Martinez added. “You’re trying to figure out how to put the ball in play, but easier said than done.”
Even those rare hitters who have had some success against deGrom don’t want to face him.
“DeGrom is the best pitcher in baseball right now,” said Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers, who is 8-3 with two career doubles against deGrom. “I do not like it. Nobody likes to face the best pitcher in the majors. “
Freeman took it to another level, saying that he is without a doubt the best pitcher he has ever faced. After resting this week, deGrom will continue his quest for history in Pittsburgh, trying to be the first starter since 1945 to have a full season with an ERA below 1.00.
“I don’t know how he can pitch so hard for so long – and it seems like he’s not pushing himself,” Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said. “He is the best pitcher in baseball. I hope he can keep doing it, because we need guys like him in the game. Let’s just hope it’s not in front of us ”.
.