Facing deGrom? Even All-Stars pray for rain

For more than a decade, Freddie Freeman has been one of the Majors’ best hitters, tormenting some of the game’s top pitchers on a nightly basis.

From Max Scherzer to Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay to Stephen Strasburg, the Braves' first baseman has seen the best baseball has to offer, making life tough on aces every time he’s stepped into the box.

Freeman is in the midst of yet another All-Star season in 2021, getting the better of National League pitchers on a nightly basis. Well, most of them, anyway.

When Jacob deGrom is the opponent standing 60 feet, 6 inches away, Freeman would rather be just about any place else.

“We had one game rained out,” Freeman said. “It was the greatest day of my life.”

deGrom has been a force of nature this season, mowing down hitters in a way we haven’t seen since Pedro Martinez in his prime. The Mets' ace sat out the All-Star Game to rest his body after battling elbow, back and right shoulder issues during the first half.

The right-hander leads the Majors with a 1.08 ERA, a 0.543 WHIP, 1.1 walks per nine innings and 14.3 strikeouts per nine, among other categories. His 146 strikeouts rank second behind Gerrit Cole’s 147. deGrom is averaging 99.1 mph with his fastball, while his 91.5 mph slider ranks second only to Zack Wheeler of the Phillies.

Despite winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2018 and ’19, deGrom has somehow gotten even better in 2021 at the age of 33.

“I don’t know how he could take it to another level, but he did,” said Wheeler, who pitched with deGrom and the Mets from 2014-19. “It’s fun to hear the guys talk about him and his pitching. I’ve always watched it, and I guess I kind of took it for granted.”

While deGrom’s fellow All-Star pitchers marveled at his stellar season, the hitters in Denver had a different reaction. Nearly every All-Star just laughed when deGrom’s name was first mentioned; finding the words to describe facing him seemed almost as challenging as the task itself.

“It’s like A Nightmare on Elm Street; it’s like facing Freddy Krueger,” Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez said. “He’s got an exploding fastball that he doesn’t miss with; he just paints with it, then he’ll mix in his other pitches off of that if he feels like you’re on it. It’s not fun.”

“You just try to defend yourself as best as possible,” Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth said. “He’s in his own category. He’s on a different planet.”

Some of the most talented hitters in the world recalled the difficulty of facing deGrom during his Cy Young Award-winning seasons. As tough as that was, getting a hit didn’t feel impossible. Now? Stepping to the plate against deGrom can be demoralizing.

“I remember facing him when he was throwing 94, and he was a tough at-bat then,” Nationals shortstop Trea Turner said. “Then he started throwing 96, 98, and now he’s basically throwing 100 all the time. It feels like he’s releasing the ball so close to home, and he’s got two really good pitches to go with that fastball. He seems to be getting better and better, which is not good news for us.”

“Honestly, if you put the ball in play, you feel pretty good about your at-bat,” Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “He’s that dominant right now. The fastball-slider combination that he can command so well on one side of the plate, he really doesn’t have to do much more than that. You basically have to pick one, hope you guess right and he misses a little over the plate.”

There’s only one problem with that approach: deGrom rarely seems to miss.

“He’s throwing 100 under your hands and you think it’s a ball, then you go back and look and it’s in the box,” Freeman said. “How do you hit that? You don’t, obviously. If you just get a walk or break your bat and somehow get a hit, you’re happy. We just faced him and I struck out three times; I fouled off one pitch and I was like, ‘I’ll take that.’”

“He’s at another level,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado said. “I faced him a couple years ago, and he’s not the same any more. He’s just gotten that much better.”

Opponents are slashing just .126/.157/.239 against deGrom this season, striking out 146 times while drawing just 11 walks.

“I feel bad for certain guys that have to face him,” Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said. “His consistency of greatness, you just don’t see it. Guys can go out for an outing or two, string them together, then hit a rough patch. He’s just electric constantly. Seeing it on a day-in, day-out, start-in, start-out basis, it’s crazy.”

deGrom has allowed 11 earned runs in 15 starts, and while nobody is ready to compare him to Shohei Ohtani at the plate, deGrom is hitting .364 with six RBIs, helping his own cause on several occasions.

“He had more RBIs than runs allowed at one point,” Machado said. “That should tell you everything you need to know about the guy.”

Alonso is grateful not to have the unenviable task of facing deGrom in meaningful games, but he does get to step in against him during live batting practice in Spring Training, giving him a firsthand look at the challenge his fellow hitters around the league face every five days.

“It’s not fun, but being able to face Jake early, it helps me so much to prepare for the season,” Alonso said. “I’m going to have to face the best, so seeing guys at the top of the game, I need to have that experience.”

What exactly is that experience like? We posed a simple question to numerous All-Star hitters: What is a successful at-bat against deGrom?

“Don’t strike out every time,” Turner said. “If you can put some balls in play, you’re doing all right.”

“Not striking out,” Cronenworth said. “Touching the ball.”

“You hope he walks you,” Martinez said. “You’re just trying to find a way to put it in play, though that’s easier said than done.”

Even those rare hitters who have had moderate success against deGrom don’t like seeing him on the mound.

“deGrom is the best pitcher in the big leagues right now,” said Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers -- who is 3-for-8 with two doubles in his career against deGrom. “I don’t like it. He’s nasty. No one likes facing the best pitcher in the big leagues.”

Freeman took it to another level, calling deGrom “hands down” the best pitcher he has ever faced. After catching his breath this week, deGrom will resume his pursuit of history in Pittsburgh, trying to become the first starter since 1945 to post a sub-1.00 ERA over the course of a full season.

“I don’t even know how you’re able to throw that hard for that long -- and it looks like he’s not even trying,” Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said. “He’s the best pitcher in the game. Hopefully he’s able to do it for a lot longer, because we need guys like him in the game. Just hopefully not pitching against us.”