Should the Mets retire Jacob deGrom's number?

The news that Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry will get their numbers retired by the New York Mets got me thinking.

Who else could get their numbers retired by the Mets? The first name that came to my mind was David Wright, and that is pretty much undebatable. The next name I thought of is more debatable. Jacob deGrom.

Should Jacob deGrom have his number retired by the Mets?

Jacob deGrom is one of the best pitchers in the history of the New York Mets, a franchise that has had a ton of great pitchers. By WAR he is 3rd in Mets history behind Tom Seaver and Doc Gooden. That is where I would rank him on the Mets all time list. Third behind Seaver and Doc.

In deGrom's 9 year Mets career he had a 2.52 ERA and was consistently one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He won Rookie of the Year with the Mets in 2014. 2018 and 2019 were CY Young seasons for deGrom. 2021 might've been his best year yet before he was taken down by injury. In 15 starts before injury, deGrom had a 1.08 ERA, which would've been a single season record.

deGrom also came up clutch in the postseason. He had a 2.90 ERA in 5 playoff starts. In 2022 when his rotation mate Max Scherzer was coming up small in the playoffs, deGrom picked him up by winning Game 2 of the wild card series against the Padres. Who could forget Game 5 of the 2015 NLDS when deGrom battled, despite not having his best stuff, and helped the Mets move on to the NLCS.

The only reasons deGrom getting his number retired is even a question is because of injuries and him leaving the Mets for the Texas Rangers. Looking at his career stats, I am surprised to see that he basically pitched full seasons every year before 2021. He missed some time in 2016 too but that's all.

As for deGrom leaving the Mets, it was pretty much the Mets decision. They didn't match what Texas offered deGrom and that turned out to be the right decision. There shouldn't be any ill will towards deGrom.

deGrom deserves to get his number retired by the Mets, joining the likes of Seaver and Gooden. deGrom was just as dominant as those two. He had a storied career with the Mets, and we should all be thankful we got to see him pitch for our baseball team.