They were there in the hallway of the home clubhouse before batting practice Wednesday, three men in short-sleeve, collared black shirts and khakis. Noah Syndergaard said a friendly hello on his way to the field. They are the drug testers, part of the landscape of the majors for well more than a decade.
“For a three-game series, typically two of the three days guys are in here getting drug-tested,” said Neil Walker, the Mets’ second baseman. “We get tested a lot — anywhere between three and seven times a season. You always kind of feel like there’s going to be people trying to beat the system, and that’s unfortunate, but the system seems to be working to this point.