Why Mets' Aaron Loup Still Wants To Pitch With History On Line

Why Mets pitcher Aaron Loup still wants the ball with history on the line.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK- With three games left to go in the regular season, Aaron Loup is on the brink of accomplishing a special feat. 

Loup can become just the 10th relief pitcher in baseball history to finish with an ERA below 1.00. 

List of pitchers with ERA under 1.00 in single season with at least 56 innings:

Dennis Eckersley 1990
Chris Hammond 2002
Dennis Reyes 2006
Jonathan Papelbon 2006
Eric O'Flaherty 2011
Fernando Rodney 2012
Wade Davis 2014, 2015
Zack Britton 2016
Blake Treinen 2018
Aaron Loup 2021

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) September 30, 2021

Entering play on Thursday, Loup held a 0.95 ERA across 56.2 innings (65 appearances) in 2021. The left-hander did not pitch last night, which means he will likely get 1-2 more chances to take the mound again before calling it a year.

When asked about how cognizant the Mets will be regarding their usage of Loup the rest of the way, given the historic implications on the line, manager Luis Rojas' answer said it all about Loup's demeanor. 

"I know he's going to want the ball, he's going to want to pitch," said Rojas prior to the Mets-Marlins series finale at Citi Field. "But I think in everyone's interest, and especially his too, is to finish with the best numbers he can have. But before that, I know that 'Loupy' is going to want the ball in one-or-two of these next four games."

The Mets signed Loup to a one-year, $3 million deal last winter and it proved to be one of the best moves of the offseason.

Regardless of whether he finishes with a sub-1.00 ERA or not, Loup still had the best season for a reliever in Mets' history.

"He has had a special season. He's unbelievable, he wants the ball," said Rojas. "He's a tremendous human being, he's just such an important and valuable pitcher to have in your bullpen."

And given the 33-year-old's value, the Mets would be wise to re-sign him this offseason. But his price will likely be through the roof, due to the stellar campaign he has endured.

However, Loup has made it clear that he wants to return to the Mets next season. 

Whatever winds up happening in free agency, the Mets are still taking Loup's arm-care into account for their final series in Atlanta with the Braves this weekend.

"He pitched [Wednesday] night, the day of the doubleheader he was down, so we also want guys to finish healthy," said Rojas. "So that's going to be important, I don't know if he's okay to go tonight, but those are the conversations we are going to have and if we need to use him, we will use him."

While Loup will definitely pitch again this season, the Mets aren't playing for anything at this point, and the hope is they will do everything they can to help Loup complete history this year.