PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Noah Syndergaard had his lunch dumped in the clubhouse garbage by Bobby Parnell and David Wright last spring training. Not long afterward, Syndergaard was demoted to minor-league camp.
Now, the 23-year-old right-hander is one of the New York Mets' aces, cemented in the rotation. And he is a hero to some Mets fans for throwing the first pitch of Game 3 of the World Series -- a 98 mph fastball -- whizzing past Alcides Escobar and to the backstop in an attempt to send a message and try to make the Kansas City Royals less "comfortable" in the batter's box.