PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Over the past couple years, Noah Syndergaard has earned a reputation for losing his shirt. The Mets starter frequently ditches it during workouts, showing off hours spent in the weight room. Two years ago, he conducted a shirtless interview during Spring Training. This spring, he has been spotted several times on the back field without one.
The Mets decided to have some fun with that reputation on Saturday. When their pitchers arrived on a back field to stretch, they all took off their shirts to make fun of Syndergaard.
“He was a little thrown off,” said one of Syndergaard’s best friends, reliever Robert Gsellman.
Several players said manager Luis Rojas was behind the prank, though he wouldn’t admit it was solely his doing.
“I think everyone’s guilty on that one,” Rojas said, laughing. “Good old fun by teammates knowing Noah. It was a collaboration prank by the team. I think they delivered.”
If the idea was to keep Syndergaard fully clothed going forward, it may not have worked. At one point during stretch, Syndergaard jogged over and began confiscating several of his teammates’ shirts. He says he won’t hesitate to remove his own in the future.
“If anything, it’s probably going to have the exact opposite effect and provoke me even more,” Syndergaard said, laughing.