Adam Rubin of ESPN NY writes that upon his arrival on his first day of spring camp, Noah Syndergaard certainly felt more comfortable than his arrival a season ago.
Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac
“I got my feet wet, and I’m not the new guy really anymore,” Syndergaard shares with Rubin. “That’s always comforting. I feel a lot more comfortable. I’m kind of a shy guy. It takes me a while to get accustomed to everybody.”
Syndergaard tells Rubin how he still remembered how nervous he was a year ago when he threw for the organization for first time. “I remember being really nervous, and just going out there and trying to tune everything out.” Syndergaard continues, “I had seen a number of Mets front-office guys and my parents were there, too.”
In 2013, Syndergaard started 23 games and was 9-4, with a 3.06 ERA, and 133 strikeouts in 117.2 innings between St. Lucie (A+)and Binghamton(AA).
With the Mets having a few veteran starters in camp, it is probably highly unlikely that Syndergaard breaks camp with the team and more likely he is sent down to Las Vegas 51’s (AAA) to start his season.
Thor, as the fans call him, is no stranger to Citi Field as he pitched there last summer in the Futures Game during the July All Star game festivities, and he shares with Rubin how he felt, “It was awesome. It was an unbelievable experience. It gave me a little taste of what it’s like to pitch on that mound. I felt real comfortable on that mound, and hopefully I can call it home in a couple of months, or later this year.”
Syndergaard also understands what is expected of him moving forward, “I do a pretty good job of trying to block it out, but being traded for a Cy Young winner kind of puts a little bit of pressure on you to live up to those standards,” Syndergaard tells Rubin. “Hopefully I can live up to those standards.”
It would be great if Syndergaard had an amazing spring and forces the hand of the Mets to have to bring him up right away but as Rubin shares, he is expected to debut sometime in mid-June which would delay his arbitration eligibility by a year.
At the end of the day baseball is still a business and the teams need to do what is best for the organization as a whole, but it will be very interesting if Thor just blows hitters away this spring, making the decision to delay his debut that much harder.
