To the surprise of many, the 2023 World Series is going to be the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers. With the trade deadline sending Max Scherzer to the Rangers, and Tommy Pham to the Diamondbacks, we have seen how former Mets players have impacted each team’s respective rides to the pennant.
However, if you look back further, it was the Mets player development that also played a role in how these two World Series teams were constructed.
First and foremost, there’s Jacob deGrom. By now, Mets fans know this story by heart. He was a 2010 ninth round selection out of Stetson University. The converted shortstop tore his UCL, and he would learn from Johan Santana how to throw a change-up.
You cannot tell Mets history without discussing deGrom. He was the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year. He was dominant in the 2015 postseason. He won back-t0-back Cy Youngs in 2018 and 2019, and he was the unquestioned best pitcher in baseball.
Unfortunately, he left the Mets to sign with the Rangers. He lasted just six starts before discovering he would need another Tommy John surgery. He’s been in the dugout and clubhouse during this run, but he has not been a big part of this Rangers run.
The same cannot be said for Paul Sewald. Like deGrom, he was a late round draft pick (2012 10th round) who made it to the majors against all odds. To many, this former University of San Diego’s story is all the more surprising.
Sewald dominated as a reliever in the Mets minor league system. He would force his way to the majors after pitching to a 2.08 ERA while pitching for Las Vegas, perhaps the most hitter friendly ballpark in all of baseball.
That dominant form didn’t quite translate with the Mets. He had spurts, but his tenure with the Mets was largely marked by inconsistent and burdensome workloads. He would be designated for assignment, and when he hit free agency, he went to the Seattle Mariners. It was there his career changed, and he became the closer he was with Las Vegas.
To the shock of many, the Mariners, who were in the postseason race, would trade Sewald to the Diamondbacks. He was been dominant this postseason pitching eight scoreless innings recording six saves, the last of which sent the Diamondbacks to the World Series.
Helping Sewald accomplish that is Diamondback’s pitching coach Brent Strom. Strom is most known as being the Houston Astros pitching coach. However, his professional baseball story began with the Mets organization.
Strom was drafted twice but did not sign. However, when the Mets made him their first round pick in the June secondary 1970 draft, he would sign with the team. Two years after being drafted, he would make his way to the majors.
In five starts and six relief appearances, he would go 0-3 with a 6.82 ERA. After that season, he would be traded to Cleveland. He would pitch five years in the majors, and he would actually become just the second person to undergo Tommy John surgery. However, it did not have the impact for him like it did Tommy John. It would be more than a decade before we saw him in baseball again as a minor league pitching coach.
As it stands, Sewald and Strom are both two important figures for the Diamondbacks chances of winning the World Series. For Sewald, they need him to be the lockdown closer he has been. For Strom, they need him to continue getting everything out of the pitching staff like he has throughout the 2023 postseason. In the end, that means if the Diamondbacks win the 2023 World Series, their story will all begin with the Mets player development system.
