Counting down the Top 10 NY sports stories of 2021: No. 8 - Jacob deGromination ... and then injury

We're counting down the Top 10 New York sports stories of 2021. Here is No. 8...

Heading into the All-Star break, the Mets were in first place and were being paced by an otherworldly version of Jacob deGrom who was having one of the best seasons in the history of the sport.

DeGrom entered the break with a 1.08 ERA (1.24 FIP) and 0.55 WHIP with 146 strikeouts in 92 innings over 15 starts.

He was on track to not only win the third Cy Young of his career, but -- if he kept up anything close to the torrid pace he was on -- the MVP as well.

Before the break, deGrom had been slowed by some minor injuries that cost him to miss a little bit of time, but he said that each malady had been caused by something he did while batting. So while the injuries were a bit distressing, no one was ringing alarm bells.

But something changed in July, with deGrom's new injury (later revealed to be UCL-related) shrouded in mystery and his potential return date unknown.

Toward the end of the season, after Sandy Alderson had said that deGrom had a small tear of the UCL that had resolved itself, deGrom said the UCL was not an issue.

And deGrom made progress in his rehab and worked toward returning in late September before the Mets fell out of contention and he was shut down.

DeGrom's health will be an enormous story to follow at spring training as he pairs with Max Scherzer to form what could be one of the best one-two punches ever.

Counting Down the Top 10 NY Sports Stories of 2021

No. 10 -  Rangers' firings and hirings

No. 9 - 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks

No. 8 - Jacob deGromination... then injury