Noah Syndergaard: Goodbye to all Mets

After a tumultuous six years in the big city, a 29-year-old Manhattan resident has taken to social media to explain just how hard it was to decide to leave New York and move to Los Angeles.

Former Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard blasted out his “Why I’m leaving New York” personal essay on Wednesday morning.

“Dear Mets fans, this is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do,” he said in a video. “New York has been my home for the last six years, and through both the good times and bad, my love for you has never wavered.”

“This free agency process has been both eye-opening and humbling,” he said. “I was both flattered by all the outside interest yet couldn’t process how hard it would be to leave New York City.”

Syndergaard’s departure was a surprise to Mets fans after the team extended him the one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer and the pitcher said he was “fairly confident” he would return.

According to published reports, he didn’t even bring the Angels’ one-year, $21 million offer to the Mets for a counter because of the team’s lack of a front-office structure and plan.

“After countless days of thought, I feel that signing with the Angels was the best fit for me at this point in my career...Playing in New York has been the best experience of my life. For a kid from a small town in Texas, this place changed me forever...I’ll always be pulling for the Mets, until I’m playing against you.”

Syndergaard was one of the best pitchers in the National League from 2015-18 before a brutal last three years with the Mets. In his last healthy year, 2019, he scuffled to a league-average performance and frequently clashed with management over issues like team travel and who would catch him.

Then, just as the pandemic hit, he injured his arm and required Tommy John surgery in early 2020. Numerous setbacks limited him to just two major league appearances in the two seasons since, one-inning outings in September of this year.