World Series: Noah Syndergaard took long route to rediscover baseball spotlight
Noah Syndergaard #43 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks on during batting practice prior to Game One of the 2022 World Series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on October 28, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Credit: Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - When Noah Syndergaard spurned the Mets’ qualifying offer a year ago to sign with the Angels, getting back to the World Series didn’t appear to be his primary motivation. But in a season that began by the beach, basking in the SoCal sun rather than the brightest media spotlight, Syndergaard is now the Phillies’ starter for Thursday’s pivotal Game 5, an assignment that was unimaginable a few months ago.
“This year's just been kind of a whirlwind for me,” Syndergaard said Wednesday afternoon. “I think anybody that gets traded in the middle of the year, used as like a rental piece, it kind of puts anybody out of their comfort zone. But I think it's really helped me grow as a person and as a pitcher.”
Like many who venture to the West Coast, Syndergaard -- coming off Tommy John surgery -- seemed to be looking for some spa time, in a lower-stress environment, free from the toxicity of New York. Hey, if you have the means, and the flexibility, there are worse places to recharge your career, and Syndergaard parlayed the Mets’ $18.4-million QO into a $21-million pillow contract that presumably would launch him into a more lucrative long-term deal.
Syndergaard could rebuild his arm strength in the relative obscurity of Anaheim, a place forever under the towering shadow of true L.A.’s Dodgers, and he faded even further off the radar once the Angels opened the season in an irreversible tailspin (hastened by another extended injury to three-time MVP Mike Trout).
In many ways, Syndergaard orchestrated the ideal bounce-back season, the equivalent of a gap year for a recovering major-leaguer, and the plan was working to perfection. For a while anyway.
And then the trade deadline happened. Just like that, his SoCal gambit had evaporated, and Syndergaard -- this decidedly non-Thor version -- was thrust into a pennant race, pitching games that mattered. And the stakes have continued to climb higher from there, to the pinnacle of what Syndergaard conceded Wednesday is the biggest start of his career, whether it’s a potential Phillies clincher or preventing this series from going back to Houston with the Astros up, 3-2.
“I would definitely think so, yeah,” Syndergaard said. “Every start this year's kind of been one that I'm not quite used to just because … I haven't possessed the ability to throw a hundred miles an hour, my off-speed stuff hasn't been the same. So I've really had to adapt and change my way of pitching, and I think it's just going to really help me out overall.”
The juxtaposition of Noah’s October [into November] rise with the Mets’ surprising late-season collapse and early playoff exit is impossible to ignore, just for the longshot nature of these events coming together. Syndergaard’s Thor mythology was born in Flushing, his legend polished during the 2015 World Series run, and yet his stunning but voluntary departure came just as the Mets were on the cusp of a continued franchise makeover under second-year owner Steve Cohen, the multibillionaire hedge-fund titan.
From a physical standpoint alone, Syndergaard isn’t the same Thor this season, no longer possessing the intimidating velocity that used to be his calling card. Two years removed from the TJ surgery, Syndergaard’s four-seam fastball averages 94.1 mph and his once-devastating slider now sits at a pedestrian 84.8 mph. Compare that to the height of his pre-op powers, in 2017, when Syndergaard’s heater sizzled at 98.6 mph and the slider was at 92.3 mph.
During his Mets’ dominance, Syndergaard relied on that blow-away factor to fuel a confidence that seemed fragile on occasion. But now he’s been forced to find other ways to be effective since, and that involves more pitching to contact. Syndergaard made 24 starts between the Angels and Phillies, with a 3.94 ERA and a 6.3 K/9 ratio well below his career mark of 9.2.
Thursday night will be his ninth playoff appearance, and sixth start, with four of those coming for the Mets (2-1, 2.42 ERA). His last World Series start was Game 3 of the ’15 Fall Classic, when the rookie Syndergaard buzzed the Royals’ Alcides Escobar with the first pitch, then basically challenged the entire KC roster to a fight with his postgame comments. The Mets would lose that series in five games, but now this older, wiser Syndergaard will draw on that experience with a chance to get their division rivals to the brink of a title.
“He's going to do his thing,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “But the moment's not going to be too big for him.”
Awaiting this next moment, Syndergaard took a morning walk on the eve of his Game 5. No beach in Philly, only cobblestones or the Delaware Riverfront. It’s a place he didn’t figure to be this November, but Syndergaard admired all the Phillies’ gear, and the fervor this city has for an 87-win team that’s an underdog no longer.
“There was just one guy that recognized me,” Syndergaard said. “That was it.”
After Thursday, his next trip through the Philly streets could be in a parade.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
