New York Mets pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard retreated into the clubhouse to enjoy his lunch during an intrasquad scrimmage on Tuesday. The 22-year-old may have just been hungry, but David Wright was quick to remind him that it was not lunch time.
Wright felt that Syndergaard should have been in the dugout watching the game with the rest of his teammates rather than sitting in the air-conditioned clubhouse. So he confronted the youngster.
“Being a young player, any chance you get to learn, you go out there and learn,” Wright told Marc Carig of Newsday.
Wright, who was named Mets team captain in 2013, wasn’t the only veteran who was rubbed the wrong way. Pitcher Bobby Parnell, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, joined Wright in lecturing Syndergaard and even took the liberty of tossing his food in the trash.
With Syndergaard’s plate still piled with food, Parnell picked it up and tossed it into a nearby trash can. With the message received, Syndergaard stood and joined his teammates in the dugout, a lesson learned after some clubhouse justice meted out by veterans.
“If a kid’s not playing nice, you take his toys away,” Parnell said. “When you have a young and impressionable player, and you need to make him understand something that he’s not understanding, you have to be a little forceful.”
Wright told Newsday he did not intend to embarrass or single out Syndergaard, but he wanted him to understand the importance of taking advantage of opportunities to learn. Syndergaard did not take it personally.
“There’s really no point getting into details about it, but I came inside,” he explained. “I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so I figured it was as good as any [a time] to eat lunch. I didn’t think much of it.
“I understand exactly where David was coming from. It’s not a big deal. No feelings were hurt. I understand. It was more of a veteran teaching a younger guy a teaching point.”
Watch out, people — the Mets mean business. This isn’t a team that is going to stand by and allow rappers to embarrass themselves with horrible ceremonial first pitches anymore. This is a team that is going to eat lunch when it’s appropriate and try to win some games. Try saying that with a straight face. You can’t.
