Noah Syndergaard grew up in Mansfield, Texas, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb that was rated the country's No. 17 place to live last year by Money magazine. After spending one season in New York, though, the Mets pitcher says he's all-in with the Big Apple.
“I want to be a Met for life,” Syndergaard told the New York Daily News on Thursday. “I love it.”
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After going 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA in 24 starts as a rookie, the 23-year-old has taken advantage of his newfound status around town. He already has been seen at Giants, Knicks, Rangers and Islanders games — and posted a photo of himself doing a "snow angel" on the home team's logo at each venue.
He told the Daily News he was excited to get to meet Odell Beckham Jr. and says he has ordered a Kristaps Porzingis jersey. Syndergaard is eligible for arbitration in 2018, and won't become a free agent until after 2021.
Clearly, Syndergaard is committed for the long haul, as the Mets should be to him after his impressive debut campaign. A first-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2010 MLB draft who came to the Mets in a deal for R.A. Dickey, he worked his way up through the farm system before arriving in Queens in May and he won't be leaving anytime soon.
Well, except for Thanksgiving next week, when he'll head back to Texas. But only temporarily.
“I’d like to see the holidays, the tree and ‘Elf’ live on Broadway,” Syndergaard told the Daily News. “I think I am going to have to come back.”
