Syndergaard: Energy in NY is great, can 'bite you in the butt'

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Noah Syndergaard on leaving Mets: 'That energy that can make New York so great and positive can also bite you in the butt a little bit'

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 8/12/22

Some fans of the New York Mets were surprised and even upset to learn last November that one-time All-Star starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard had decided to leave the organization and put pen to paper on a one-year, $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

The divorce involving Syndergaard and the Mets later became somewhat messy. After the Amazins threw a combined no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies this spring, Syndergaard seemed to take a shot at his old employer via Instagram while celebrating a no-hitter tossed by then-teammate Reid Detmers. SNY, the TV home of the Mets, later answered with a dig of their own after Syndergaard suffered through an awful outing versus the Texas Rangers.

The Angels ultimately shipped Syndergaard to the Phillies earlier this month. His turn in the rotation won't come during this weekend's series between the division rivals at Citi Field, but the Mets will nevertheless honor the 29-year-old who missed the entire 2020 season and most of the 2021 campaign due to having Tommy John surgery in March 2020:

The Mets will play a Noah Syndergaard tribute video about nine minutes before first pitch. Tonight is his first time at Citi Field as a visiting player (though he won’t pitch this weekend).
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 12, 2022

Syndergaard caught up with some old teammates ahead of Friday's series opener and also admitted one reason he originally signed with the Angels was to help aid him in his recovery from his 2020 surgery:

Noah Syndergaard catches up with Jacob deGrom and Carlos Carrasco in his return to Citi Field: pic.twitter.com/qZM2THeloA
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 12, 2022

"Part of the reason why I still made the move to the Angels, the West Coast, is because that energy that can make New York so great and positive can also bite you in the butt a little bit," Syndergaard explained. "Especially with what I'm going through right now, little dip in velocity, still trying to rely on location, mixing things up. I feel like if I was doing that while playing here, everything would just be highlighted. That was kinda a big fear of mine. So that's probably a reason I went over to the West Coast."

Noah Syndergaard says part of the reason he signed with the Angels was to give himself time to recover from his injury:

"That energy that can make New York so great and positive can also bite you in the butt a little bit. Everything would be highlighted." pic.twitter.com/EQtx0y5O80
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 12, 2022

Syndergaard made his MLB debut with the Mets in the spring of 2015 and remained attached to the franchise until he signed with the Angels. Across this season with the Angels and Phillies, he's gone 6-8 with a 3.96 ERA.

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