Jacob deGrom Hall of Fame doubters just got proved wrong with Rangers accomplishment

Sunday was quite a big day in the history of Texas Rangers baseball. When all is said and done for 2025, it could be pointed to as the day when the turnaround really started for a couple of reasons; not the least of which was firing an offensive coordinator who didn’t seem to be coordinating much offense since the start of the 2024 season.

There was also the hint that more reshuffling of the Rangers’ roster is coming, though with an off day on Monday, there isn’t a big rush. But something rather momentous was lost in the shuffle of Texas’ 8-1 win that helped them avoid a sweep at the hands of the Seattle Mariners. Jacob deGrom was outstanding again.

Jacob deGrom hits historic milestone while Rangers offense steals the spotlight

In fact, Jacob deGrom is looking like the Texas Rangers ace the team thought it was signing when it inked him to a big deal all the way back in December of 2022. While notching another dominant outing on Sunday, deGrom once again showed that while injuries have put a damper in his career, his run has been an epic one that should end with him in the Hall of Fame. No matter what the doubters say.

deGrom limited a Mariners’ offense that bedeviled the Rangers all weekend to just 3 hits and 1 run over five innings. He also notched 3 strikeouts, including his 1,700th career strikeout when he managed to K Jorge Polanco staring in the second inning. 

Just how big a deal was that 1,700th K? Jacob deGrom did it in just 225 games, which is five games faster than anyone has done it since at least 1901. The previously fastest to reach that mark were Randy Johnson and Yu Darvish who, oddly enough; each did it in 230 games pitched.

Even more interesting is that when he struck out Polanco, deGrom became the 13th active pitcher to hit the 1,700th career strikeout mark at all. He joins current Rangers pitcher Patrick Corbin on that list. 

While all of that is great for a Hall of Fame resume that is better than most want to admit, his latest outing was also simply a great sign for his team’s chances to turn around the 2025 season. 

After starting April by giving up 7 runs in just 7.2 innings (including giving up 4 homers in two games) the veteran hurler has locked in. Over 23.1 innings in his last four starts, deGrom has allowed just 4 earned runs (a 1.56 earned run average) while striking out 23 and allowing just 13 hits.

The Texas Rangers now have a another potential Hall of Famer on their roster pitching like he did a decade ago. That can’t be a bad thing for a club looking for ways to turn around a rather unimpressive first few weeks of the season.