Noah Syndergaard New York Mets Signed Official Rawlings Major League Baseball with “Thor” Inscription – MLB Authentication Hologram

Description

Noah Syndergaard, nicknamed “Thor”, is a professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Guardians.

Born in Mansfield, Texas, Syndergaard did not establish himself as a baseball player for Mansfield Legacy High School until his senior year in 2010, where his pitch velocity was bolstered by a growth spurt and weight training regimen. Despite his strong season, Syndergaard’s late development meant that he was mostly overlooked by scouts and college coaches, and he received only one college baseball scholarship offer. He turned down Dallas Baptist University, however, when the Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the first round, 38th overall, of the 2010 MLB Draft, he decided to sign. After three years in the Blue Jays’ farm system, Syndergaard was traded with several other prospects to the Mets in exchange for reigning Cy Young Award winner R. A. Dickey. He made back-to-back appearances in the All-Star Futures Game in 2013 and 2014, but was left off of the Mets’ September call-up list.

Syndergaard received the nickname “Thor” from Mets fans in 2013, when he posted a video on Twitter of himself weightlifting while wearing a Halloween costume of the Marvel Cinematic Universe character of the same name. The nickname also alludes to Syndergaard’s Scandinavian heritage, as the Marvel character is based on a Germanic deity. All of Syndergaard’s baseball gloves are named after fictional characters. In addition to his signature “Thor” glove, he has also used gloves named “Drago”, “Heisenberg”, “Rick Grimes”, “Tyrion Lannister”, “Jon Snow”, and “Loki”. One glove not named after a fictional character is “Lion”, named after an inside joke with Kevin Pillar: Syndergaard is the “lion on the mound”, and Pillar the “lion in the outfield”. In 2017, Syndergaard appeared in the Game of Thrones episode “The Spoils of War”, acting as a spearman for House Lannister who is eventually killed by one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons. Syndergaard regularly auctions off his gloves to raise money for research into Sjögren syndrome, an autoimmune disease from which his mother suffers.

Syndergaard made his MLB debut in May 2015, following an injury to Dillon Gee. He impressed manager Terry Collins and remained in the starting rotation for the rest of the regular season. The Mets appeared that year in the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, with Syndergaard pitching in the team’s only win of the series. The next year, Syndergaard was named a National League (NL) All-Star, and became one of only five Mets pitchers to strike out 200 batters in one season before the age of 25. His 2017 and 2018 seasons were limited by injuries and illness, but he managed to start in 32 games for the Mets in 2019. During spring training in 2020, Syndergaard was diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament injury and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He returned for only two innings at the end of the Mets’ 2021 season.

In 2022, Syndergaard rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets to sign a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels. He was traded to the Phillies at the 2022 trade deadline and split time between the starting rotation and bullpen during the team’s postseason run that culminated in an appearance in the 2022 World Series. Following the season, he signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2023 season.

The featured Rawlings Official Major League Baseball has been signed by Noah Syndergaard. The Mets All-Star has added a “THOR” inscription in blue. The Baseball includes an official MLB Authentication hologram as well as a Fanatics hologram for authenticity purposes.