- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Noah Syndergaard has struggled mightily on the mound this season.
- He told Insider his pitching woes felt "like rock bottom" and that he needed a "mental reset."
These days, Noah Syndergaard starts most mornings on the beach.
The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher often walks barefoot across the sand. Though he knows it may "sound too hippy-dippy" to some people, Syndergaard believes there's "a healing benefit" to absorbing the "magnetic electrical current" emanating from the Earth's core.
You might find the 6-foot-6 right-hander "meditating or doing box breathing" near the edge of the Pacific ocean. He's willing to try almost anything — including facing deep fears — to turn his recent luck around.
"I'm kind of terrified of the water, but I like to jump in it now," Syndergaard told Insider while discussing his partnership with supplement brand Thorne. "It's so invigorating. I mean, it's chilly, but it gives me so much life."
"It's the best way to clear the head, too," he added. "I love living next to the water for times like this."
Things these days, he admits, aren't the greatest; the longtime New York Mets ace has had a rocky start to his Dodgers tenure. He owns a 7.16 ERA on the season — a career-worst, not including his two-game 2021 season — and has been credited with just a single win through 12 starts.
Syndergaard's pitching struggles began to get to him mentally, he said, so he stepped away from the diamond to 'take a mental reset' and make some adjustments.
"It doesn't feel the best, because I wanna be out there competing like my old self," Syndergaard said. "It feels like rock bottom."
"But the only way you can go now is up," he added.
Syndergaard is using a 'mental reset' to try to find his way back to 'what made me great'
Nicknamed "Thor" for his Scandinavian heritage, long, blond locks, and lightning-fast pitches, Syndergaard was long known as one of baseball's top pitchers. But ever since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019, the 2016 MLB All-Star has struggled to return to peak performance.
He blames himself for tinkering with his form during his extended recovery. Pitching is "the most violent dance," he says, "so making really marginal, small adjustments can make a huge difference."
"I used my rehab as a moment to reinvent myself and I kinda lost who I was before, what made me great," Syndergaard said. "What I should have done is just continued to stay the same."
"But I mean, the beautiful but scary thing about it is I got myself here, so it's definitely possible to get myself out of it," he added.
He's working hard to make it happen. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic Syndergaard has stayed in-market to right the ship with someone outside of the organization whom "he's really comfortable with and trusts."
Roberts didn't clarify the nature of the work his pitcher has been doing, but Syndergaard made it clear to Insider he needed time away to get it done.
"It's hard to change the tires on a car while it's still moving, you know?" Syndergaard said. "The adjustments I needed to make, it was hard to have them really stick when I needed to compete every five days. And then when I'd go out there every five days, I'd try something different and not get the results, not put the team in a position to win."
"So I'm thankful for this little break," he added. "I think it'll be a blessing in disguise."