Mets: Noah Syndergaard and Nolan Ryan could share history

Noah Syndergaard could share some history with another guy who played for the New York Mets: Nolan Ryan.

Nolan Ryan is known for throwing fastballs at blazing speeds and throwing punches with pinpoint accuracy. The Texas fireballer is synonymous with great pitching and hardnosed gameplay. In the game of baseball, only a few pitchers have managed to strike fear in the heart of hitters the way that Ryan did, but that doesn’t stop future stars from trying. This includes one current member of the New York Mets.

We all remember Noah Syndergaard’s “60’ 6” comment during the 2015 World Series. While the Royals got the best of that matchup, you can’t blame Noah for trying to gain the mental edge over the scrappy KC club.

Syndergaard’s hard-throwing style and gritty demeanor are straight out of the Nolan Ryan playbook. Hopefully, their careers with the Mets don’t end the same way.

Nolan Ryan was a New York Met for the first 5 years of his career, posting a record of 29-38 and an ERA of 3.93 during that time. Ryan’s 29-38 record would be the only time he would have a losing record with a team in his career. Despite his solid output as a pitcher and his 13 complete games for the Mets, Ryan was traded to the California Angels in 1971 with three other Mets for outfielder Jim Fregosi.

The Mets were going after Fregosi to replace Bob Aspromonte at third base. While the price tag may look steep for a player you haven’t really heard of, keep in mind that up until 1971 Fregosi was a perennial All-Star, and was in the MVP conversation for almost the entire decade of the 1960s.

Knowing what we know now about Ryan’s future in the league, the trade looks like a big bust for the New York Mets.

More from Rising Apple

Ryan would go on to be the most prolific fastball pitchers of all time, holding the career records for most strikeouts, walks, lowest hits per 9 innings, and most no-hitters thrown, tossing 7 in his 27-year career.

What does Noah Syndergaard have to do with any of this? Nolan Ryan should be looked at as a cautionary tale of what happens when the Mets give up on a fireballer ready to take over the league.

The rumors surrounding the trades of Jacob deGrom and Syndergaard seem to swing from rumor, to fake news, to imminent depending on what words Sandy Alderson decides to use.

Last week Alderson went from “we’ll know more in the next two weeks” to “if someone offers me their best 20 prospects, you have to listen” in a matter of seconds. That’s not the glib kind of talk you want to hear from a GM when discussing trading away your best young assets.

Syndergaard’s four years with the Mets hasn’t been the easiest with his 2017 injury and the lackluster performance of his teammates, but that hasn’t stopped the young right-hander from putting up solid numbers for the Orange and Blue. Syndergaard holds a career record of 28-19, with an ERA of 2.92. Thor also owns 494 strikeouts, good enough for almost 20% of Tom Seaver’s record of 2,451 Ks.

As for Ryan’s numbers with the Mets, Syndergaard has him beat, despite pitching in 30 fewer games. With numbers like that, why would you even think about giving up on this kid to rebuild your team?

Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom are the pillars on which you build this team. Don’t sacrifice that to rebuild the farm system.

Syndergaard is half of the best 1-2 punch this organization has had in a very long time. If the Mets were to ship him off to a contender, there’s no way they won’t live to regret it. Do we want to be another footnote in a career like that of Nolan Ryan’s? Or do we want to have the guy who redefines what it means to be an MLB fireballer?

Next: Mets all-time worst lineup

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

The Mets need to keep Noah Syndergaard. We’ve been down this road before and it meant losing out on a Hall of Fame flamethrower. Sandy Alderson needs to take Noah off the table.

Home/New York Mets News