$185M Rangers ace earns pound-for-pound best title from Chris Sale

Chris Sale gave Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom a big compliment. The two pitchers faced each other ub college baseball in Florida. After all these years, Sale finds two-time Cy Young winner deGrom "pound-for-pound, the baddest dude I've ever seen on a mound."

DeGrom had his best days during his time with the Mets. There was no one as feared and dominant on the mound as him, especially in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Injuries played a role in sliding him down since then, though. In December, DeBrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers.

During his appearance on On Base with Mookie Betts podcast, Sale said about DeGrom (37:50 onwards):

"I'll say this: pound-for-pound, that might be the baddest dude I've ever seen on a mound. Like, pure stuff-wise? I mean, it's pretty incredible."

After 504 days, on Sept. 13, 2024, DeGrom made his first major league start against the Seattle Mariners. This season, he has started six games, going 1-1, holding a 2.73 ERA and 1.00 WHIP.

Jacob deGrom once absolutely nuked Chris Sale's pitch outside the park

Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom played college baseball in Florida around the same time and faced off in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Sale went to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers while DeGrom attended Stetson University in DeLand.

As both played around the same time in the same conference, there were a lot of matchups between them because DeGrom was also a shortstop at the time.

While discussing the Rangers ace with Betts, Sale was shown a throwback video where DeGrom took the Atlanta Braves pitcher deep. Watching that, Sale said (36:50 onwards):

"I'll say this about deGrom — yeah, there it is. I think that was his only high school or only college homer too. And bro, when I tell you he went way back — I hope they show where this ball lands. That’s a road — that was at Lipscomb, you ... oh yeah, yeah, that's okay. I mean, that ball—he absolutely nuked that ball."

Both Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom have had successful major league careers out of college. Sale may have won the 2024 Cy Young but was always among the top vote-getters during the early stages of his career, especially while with the Boston Red Sox.

Both players are contenders to add a Cy Young to their cabinets this season.

About the author

Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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Edited by Bhargav