Syndergaard’s assertive streak a hit with Mets fans
BUT KANSAS CITY STILL DOING SLOW BURN OVER INSIDE PITCH
Af t er l ast year ’s World Series ended, New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard spent some time taking in New York in a way he could not during the season. He attended sporting events, tried restaurants and roamed neighbourhoods. Mets fans often stopped him and complimented him on one thing: his first pitch in Game 3 of the World Series.
Syndergaard, a rookie, had reared back and fired a 97mph fastball near the head of Alcides Escobar, the Kansas City Royals’ leadoff hitter. That showed the baseball world a more assertive side of Syndergaard and sent a message: The Mets were not backing down.
In a series the Mets lost in five games, the pitch served as a high point.
“They really applauded that pitch,” Syndergaard said of the fans’ reaction.
Syndergaard is scheduled to make his first start of the 2016 season today against those same Royals, who are reportedly still stewing over that pitch.
When Syndergaard took the mound in Game 3, the Mets were trailing in the Series, 2- 0, and Escobar had been tormenting them.
Syndergaard said ahead of the game that he had a surprise “up his sleeve” for the Royals, and when manager Terry Collins saw him before the game, Syndergaard repeated the message. After the game, while the Royals were fuming, Syndergaard said in a news conference that the pitch had been on purpose.
“If they have a problem with me throwing inside, then they can meet me 60 feet 6 inches away,” Syndergaard said. “I’ve got no problem with that.”
This winter, Under Armour featured Syndergaard in a commercial in which, over video of him pitching to Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud, he talked about how he aspired to be intimidating on the mound and how pitching inside was one of his best attributes.
“I’m Noah Syndergaard,” he said into the camera, “and I’m not backing down.”
This has been a theme throughout Syndergaard’s young career. A first- round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays, he was dealt to the Mets in 2012 as part of the R.A. Dickey deal. Of the Mets’ five young star pitchers today, Syndergaard is the most physically imposing, listed at 6 feet 6 inches and 240 pounds. During his first stint in major league spring training, his teammates posted on his locker a photo of Ivan Drago, the character from Rocky IV who said, “I must break you.”
Given Syndergaard’s size, strength and pitching repertoire, many talent evaluators consider him the Mets starter with the most potential. Few pitchers can touch 100 mph with their fastball and then spin a nasty breaking ball the way he can.
In spring training this year, Syndergaard seemed subtly more confident. And he was not just getting his work in; he went all out, recording a 2.61 ERA and 20 strikeouts.
In a brash move, Syndergaard talked outfielder Yoenis Cespedes into riding horses around the Mets’ complex one day, a stunt he co- ordinated with SNY, the Mets’ TV network. They took a lap and posed for cameras, providing some excitement early in camp. Collins did not seem to take too kindly to the scene. Later that day, he said, “Fun time’s over.”
But Syndergaard — the youngest of the Mets’ five young starters, at 23 — has still been mostly deferential and mild- mannered. If Syndergaard ever crosses the line between confident and cocky, David Wright, the team’s captain, comes down on him “pretty hard,” said Dan Warthen, the pitching coach.
When Newsday, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that the Royals would seek retribution Tuesday for Syndergaard’s pitch, Syndergaard backed off his strong statement from last year.
“I simply threw a pitch on the inside corner,” he said. “Elevated. A purpose pitch.”