After being signed to a $13 million contract with the Dodgers for one year, Noah Syndergaard shows how important he is to the Los Angeles team.
At 30-years-old, Syndergaard sees 2023 as more than simply his second full season following Tommy John surgery. It’s an opportunity to make a difference while regaining his reputation as a right-handed fireballer who gained prominence when he initially entered the game in 2015 with the New York Mets.
After pitching for the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies last season, when he had a 10-10 record and a 3.94 ERA in 24 starts and 134.2 innings, Syndergaard hopes to approach 2023 with the capacity to raise the velocity of his fastball by returning to previous training techniques.
Syndergaard’s statement
He told Dodger Blue, “The old me, the velocity is one thing. But coming back from Tommy John, about month 13 or 14, I was throwing 97-98 (mph) in bullpens and then I had a little setback. I’m not really sure if my body went into fight or flight to protect itself kind of thing, or if it was I felt like I had been throwing for the last three years.”
“With the rehab, over the last three years, I might’ve only had three or four total months off, so that might have been a factor in the velocity dip. I started going down a movement and pitching mechanics rabbit hole, and was getting away from what made me great. When I had surgery, everyone was always telling me that I was too big, too bulky, too strong.
“So instead of continuing to do what made me really good and just chalking it up to Tommy John surgery that a lot of pitchers and baseball players go through, I completely did an overhaul of my training program. My emphasis in the weight room was a lot of mobility, athleticism, and kind of shifted away from strength and explosiveness.
“This last year, the results were pretty good, but there were a lot of starts where I was kind of fighting myself and not having a lot of confidence in my delivery. It was hard to fix that during the season.”
Fan comments about Syndergaard’s signing
Welcome to Los Angeles, @Noahsyndergaard! pic.twitter.com/07g1g7jlur
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 16, 2022
The LA Dodgers posted a tweet of Noah joining their team officially. This is met with a mix review as some are happy and some felt that he betrayed his old New York team. There was a fan that even commented “welcome to the Mickey Mouse House Club.”
Probably shows how less intense Baseball is in Los Angeles when compared to New York. Other fans stated his good looking features resembling Thor. Questions on Syndergaard avoiding his old team by not playing for the Dodgers for the time they’re in New York.
Others stated that he is not a starter, but he is more focused on innings. Regardless of what is said about him, he is still an excellent player. Questions on the Dodgers reaching the World Series are being asked, and some fans do not believe that they would.
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