Trump: Noah Syndergaard—sometimes referred to as Thor. He looks like Thor to me.
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After taking three of their last four games, the New York Mets no longer have the worst record in the MLB.
The Mets’ high payroll and low performance has made for many headlines this 2026 MLB season. Although, nothing to do with baseball, one of their former pitchers made an appearance at the White House on Tuesday.
Noah Syndergaard is among several professional athletes to stand along side President Donald Trump during an Oval Office ceremony to reinstate the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in hopes of returning an annual physical fitness to schools in America.
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Former New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard attended an Oval Office ceremony on Tuesday to honor President Donald Trump’s plan to bring annual fitness tests back to school in the United States.
While introducing Syndergaard, President Trump makes a mention of his nickname ‘Thor’.
Trump: Noah Syndergaard—sometimes referred to as Thor. He looks like Thor to me.
“Professional baseball pitcher, Noah Syndergaard, sometimes known as Thor, and he looks like Thor to me,” Trump said. “That is a man that I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with.”
Syndergaard and Trump were later seen outside of the White House after the ceremony concluded playing catch with kids. The pitcher even was seen showing kids how to do a pull-up.
Noah Syndergaard did 10 pull-ups showing the kids how to do it. #WhiteHouse
The former Mets pitcher, has not made a public statement about his political views. However, in 2017, Syndergaard took a stab Trump on social media after the President tweeted about getting Time Person of the Year.
Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!
Syndergaard then replied:
Sports Illustrated called and said I was probably going to be Sportsman of the Year, but it was going to take a long photo shoot and interview. I’m not proud of my recent perm and have a interpretive dance class at the interview time so I turned it down! No Thanks SI!!
Although Syndergaard shared his distaste for Trump in the past, the recent public support shows that the two have somewhat made amends.
However, the award is related to bringing back physical fitness within the youth, and Syndergaard was not the only professional athlete in attendance. He was joined by professional golfer Bryson Dechambeau and NHL player T.J. Oshie.
“The award is tied to the Presidential Fitness Test, which was a public-school fixture for decades but was phased out under President Barack Obama in favor of a program that minimized competition and focused on long-term health,” Collin Binkley and Darlene Superville of the Associate Press stated. “Trump signed an order last summer to reestablish the fitness test, which was created in the 1950s.”
“We’re bringing it back,” Trump said at an Oval Office ceremony. “My administration is working very hard to defend America’s cherished athletic traditions and pass our values of excellence and competitiveness to the next generation.”
During the unveiling, Trump was joined by Cabinet members including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Housing Secretary Scott Turner, as well as children who played sports.
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Syndergaard, 34, was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays 38th overall of the 2010 MLB draft. He remained in the Blue Jays organization for two seasons until getting traded to the New York Mets in 2012 for R.A. Dickey.
Syndergaard was one of the Mets’ best pitchers from 2012-2019. However, his career was severally impacted by injuries.
In 2017, tore a lat muscle, causing him to pitch only 30.1 innings throughout the season. Shortly after, Syndergaard had Tommy John Surgery in 2020 causing him to miss the entire season, and in 2021 he only pitched in two games, due to elbow inflammation.
He then signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, and his final two seasons of professional baseball were spent with four different teams.
Syndergaard’s finished his career with a 3.71 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, a win-loss record of 59-47, an opponent batting average of .252, and 928 strikeouts.
McKenna Van Gundy McKenna Van Gundy is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. She spent two years as a sports contributor for her University's newspaper, covering games and writing feature stories on players and coaches. She currently works for the NFL as a digital programming associate and lives in the greater Los Angeles area. More about McKenna Van Gundy
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