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Mets hurler Noah Syndergaard touched on a variety of topics in a wide-ranging interview with GQ, but one stood out among the rest
He thinks baseball is getting soft.
Syndergaard was asked about his recent Twitter exchange with Trevor Bauer as well as the comments he made about Fernando Tatis Jr., which he said were all out of fun.
“It’s fun, but we’re also competitive beings competing at the highest level,” Syndergaard told GQ’s Clay Skipper. “So we’re always looking for a way to get the edge on our competition, whether it’s to distract him in some form or fashion. But I think it’s great for baseball, and I think the fans really enjoy it. It’s exciting. People are able to see both of our personalities.
“I think baseball has gotten soft, too. I think there should be some more s–t-talking. I agree with what Bauer recently said: [about the celebration], he gave up two home runs to Tatis, and Tatis heckled him pretty good. I think that’s awesome. I agree with Bauer, that does not warrant somebody to get thrown at.”
To further add to that notion, Syndergaard doesn’t believe in the “unwritten rules” about what to do if a hitter shows up a pitcher or talks trash. It’s part of the competition in his eyes.
“I think they’re pretty stupid, to be honest,” he said. “Anything unwritten sounds pretty stupid. I think it’s very old school, and I think there needs to be a new school approach.”
Some players still have that old-school mentality, though the “Let the kids play” motto has been the recent youth movement that normalized bat flips and trash talk that wasn’t in the game, say, a decade ago.
As for how Syndergaard feels about Bauer, who was very close to joining the Mets before ultimately choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers, he said there’s no beef despite what Twitter feeds might show.
“No, I wouldn’t really call it beef. I wouldn’t put too much effort into that,” he said.