Daniel Murphy can't wait to see Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer as Mets' 1-2 punch
For now, as long as MLB’s lockout of its players remains, the world must wait for tangible consequences or even visual proof that Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer really are on the same team.
So take this expert assessment from Daniel Murphy, former teammate of both aces, in the meantime.
"It’ll be a ton of fun," Murphy said Tuesday, "when we get baseball to watch those two guys go 1-2."
Murphy played with deGrom on the Mets from 2014-15, then joined Scherzer and the Nationals for 2016-18. For, as similarly dominant and uber-competitive as deGrom and Scherzer are, Murphy said there is a noticeable difference in temperament.
"[Scherzer] was such a unique competitor when I got to Washington that it took me a bit to warm up to him," Murphy said, comparing that to how deGrom can be more laid-back. "Because as a position player, we participate, hopefully, like every single day. And the pitchers don’t. Starters especially. It’s like once every fifth day.
"So Max would be able to get and put himself in the zone, and when I first got there I was like, man, this guy is kind of freaking me out a little bit every fifth day. But then I came to appreciate that that is how he competes. And you can see it on the mound. He doesn’t come out of that level of competition and focus until the skipper comes and grabs the ball from him."
DeGrom has been the marginally better pitcher in recent years, and his first half of 2021 was so good that when he was scheduled to pitch in Atlanta on July 1, Murphy decided it was worth the six-hour drive from Jacksonville, Florida, to watch.
The game wound up being the second-to-last of deGrom’s season because he dealt with injuries. It also validated Murphy’s decision last offseason to retire.
"He was having such a special season that I thought if he got that close, I was going to take my oldest son Noah [then 7 years old] and go and see him," Murphy said. "He gave up three [runs] in the first and went and grabbed [14] punchouts. At that moment, I knew that being in the stands was exactly where I was supposed to be."
