Mets fans, here’s some Noah Syndergaard fun facts you may not know

Noah Syndergaard has become a fan favorite by Mets fans and baseball fans in general due to both his on the field and off the field performance and demeanor.

Sports Illustrated recently did an entire feature on Syndergaard appropriately titled “How Noah Syndergaard went from awkward kids to Mets ace.” In this, we found out many new fun facts about our favorite Thor.

To give you a brief synopsis:

He was scared of playing competitive sports in middle school:
There was actually a time when Syndergaard begged his mother to try and take him back home before a game started. Mama Syndergaard did no such thing as she didn’t think that would be a good lesson for her son. His coach would even ask him “What are you, scared” to which Syndergaard would respond by saying “well, yeah.”

Can you imagine a scared Thor? I can’t. Quite hard to picture, and quite surprising to me.

He added 17 pounds of muscle this offseason:
During this offseason, one of the goals Syndergaard made for himself was to bulk up from 237 pounds to 250 pounds. As of last month, i.e. a month before pitchers and catchers reported to PSL, he surpassed this goal by three pounds, weighing in at 253. Additionally, he trimmed his body fat, which was originally 15.1% and is now 13.5%. Yes, this means that Thor added approximately 17 pounds of muscle.

I mean, I gained approximately 17 pounds during this season from Keith’s burgers…that’s almost the same right?!

He wants to throw harder and look good in the uniform:
Well here are two quite different goals. Syndergaard had the following to say regarding both:

“I always want to raise the bar. Right now, with me throwing 100, I’m not really sure if that’s attainable. But I still want to try. And to look good in the uni, of course.”

We’re okay with you raising both of these bars Thor — but let’s focus on the throwing.

He only threw in the low 80s when he started his senior year of high school…His coach asked “when are you going to start letting the ball go? Then he started hitting 97:
At the beginning of his senior year, Syndergaard was standing tall at 6’3,” weighing in at 190 pounds, and clocking in at the low 80s.

On his hair:
Ah, the infamous flow, which Syndergaard describes as “a personality.” He opens up about his maintenance routine, citing expensive shampoo, conditioner, and a $32 8.5-ounce bottle of Caviar (no, not the type you eat).

His greatest comment, in my opinion, out of the entire article was the following, obviously when talking about his hair:

“If I gotta go to Sephora and pick out some high quality s—, I’m gonna do it. All the girls want to braid it, for some reason.”

Hey Thor, I’m happy to go to Sephora with you any day!

On the 60 feet, six inches comment from the WS:
I’m not going to even try and give you a synopsis of this one. You need to read Syndergaard’s words exactly:

“I never said anything had to be physical about that altercation. If they wanted to come meet me out there, I’m gonna give them my side, they can give me theirs, and we can have a discussion. I’ve never been in a fight in my life. But I like my odds.”

He’s a big fan of Seinfled now:
I mean, how can you not be a big fan of Seinfeld? However, much to Jerry Seinfeld’s dismay, I’m sure, Syndergaard proclaims his love of Kramer.

On the Bryce Harper/douche comment:

Again, you need to hear the words from Syndergaard himself. I won’t do it justice.

“Bryce and I aren’t buddy-buddy, but we see each other out, we acknowledge each other. Everybody loves a little bit of rivalry. He and I have the same goal: to make baseball fun again. Draw more fans, draw more excitement to the game.”

#MakeBaseballFunAgain

He cruises around Central Park:
Well, I know where I’ll be now on my day off! You can catch Syndergaard on a CitiBike cruising around Central Park. He also stated that he’ll stop and talk to anyone who recognizes him. I wonder if Syndergaard will upgrade from a bike to one of the horses found in Central Park. I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time…

He’s still a nerd:
From one nerd to another, hello! This may be my favorite thing that I’ve learned throughout this entire feature. Fun fact for you all: he speaks to his mother at least twice every day. How sweet is that! Men (and women) take note. Call your moms.

“Underneath is still someone very innocent,” says Syndergaard.. “When it’s needed, I can transform into this big guy with a fastball and great hair, tough as nails. But I’m still a geek and a nerd inside.”

Next: GKR are back on February 25th

In my opinion, this was a fantastic feature by Sports Illustrated. Syndergaard was the perfect person to highlight. Am I surprised by any of the above? Not really, except of course for the fact that he was scared of playing sports in middle school.

Syndergaard, just keep being you. Keep dominating on and off the field.