ANAHEIM, Calif. — Those who vividly remember Noah Syndergaard on top of the mountain, hair flying and fastball sizzling, may not recognize the 2022 version of the man they called Thor.
The long hair is still there, even if the 100-mile-an-hour fastball has turned into a memory after two years lost to injuries. But in Syndergaard’s first year with the Los Angeles Angels, a new teammate has been helping reinvent the Texan into something that is decidedly more Southern California.
“He is Texas, but he loves the beach,” Michael Lorenzen, an Angels right-hander and Anaheim native, said of Syndergaard’s Mansfield, Texas roots.