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Mets: Will Jacob deGrom reach David Wright status with the fans?

By Tim Boyle

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 8: David Wright #5 of the New York Mets, who has not played for the Mets for over two years because of back and neck medical problems and is looking to make a return to the Mets, talks with Jacob deGrom #48 on the field as he walks off after playing in a simulated game before an MLB baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 8, 2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Mets won 10-5. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 8: David Wright #5 of the New York Mets, who has not played for the Mets for over two years because of back and neck medical problems and is looking to make a return to the Mets, talks with Jacob deGrom #48 on the field as he walks off after playing in a simulated game before an MLB baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 8, 2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Mets won 10-5. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /
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Does Jacob deGrom have any chance of dethroning David Wright as the most beloved player in the eyes of New York Mets fans?

In this absence of sports period we’re living through, one place many people turned to in the month of March was a tournament bracket. Sports teams and blogs put together their own tournament of 64 to find some kind of winner. We did this with Rising Apple last winter when we tried to find out which member of New York Mets history is the all-time fan-favorite.

It was no surprise to see David Wright win the tournament rather easily. Undoubtedly a top player in the franchise’s history, he also suited up for the club more recently than some other challengers.

Tom Seaver played long ago where many Mets fans weren’t even born during his career. Mike Piazza, as close in my memory as his playing days feel, is already old enough to have performed before a whole generation remembers the game.

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Because polls like this have such a bias towards the recent, I wonder if another member of the Mets would have had an opportunity to challenge Wright a little better in 2020.

The thing I’m wondering is whether or not Jacob deGrom could give The Captain a run for his title as the Rising Apple all-time favorite Mets player.

deGrom has the benefit of playing right now. In some regards, this could be a disadvantage. We never do know what we’ve got ‘til it’s gone. However, deGrom seems like an exception to many laws of fandom.

Mets fans are truly beginning to understand exactly how special he is to this club and its history. Only behind Seaver, he’s the best pitcher in the team’s history and I’m ready to anoint him this title.

I think the fans are sane enough to not vote for a fan-favorite like Pete Alonso over Wright. Though Mets fans have fallen head over heels in love with the Polar Bear, Wright has an even more permanent and special place in their hearts at the moment.

deGrom is a little different than Alonso. He has been with the team for a few years and is already making a case to land on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore. It’s really only a debate of whether or not he’s better than Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. I think that pair is extremely close for the number four spot all-time if we don’t include deGrom.

Wright’s retirement at the end of the 2018 season brought back a lot of fond memories for fans. At the time of our contest, I think those feelings were still present.

Next. Greatest Mets players of all-time

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More than a year later, I am curious if the title belt would go to a pitcher still on the rise in historical significance.

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