Second Thoughts

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New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard said if the Kansas City Royals have issues with his inside pitches “they can meet me at 60 feet, six inches away.”
New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard said if the Kansas City Royals have issues with his inside pitches “they can meet me at 60 feet, six inches away.”

New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard told reporters he had "a few tricks" up his sleeve prior to his start in Game 3 of the World Series on Friday night, and he wasn't kidding.

Syndergaard opened the game by throwing high and inside against Royals leadoff batter Alcides Escobar in the top of the first inning.

He admitted that was on purpose.

"My intent was to make him uncomfortable," Syndergaard told reporters after allowing three runs and striking out six Kansas City batters in six innings in the Mets' 9-3 victory.

However, Syndergaard made it clear he didn't toss the pitch with violent motives.

"I certainly wasn't trying to hit the guy," he said.

Escobar didn't sound too convinced.

"We will send a message back. Don't worry," Escobar said.

"If they have a problem with me throwing inside, then they can meet me at 60 feet, six inches away," Syndergaard replied after hearing Escobar's comments.

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer echoed Escobar's thoughts.

"Any time a guy throws at one of your teammates heads, it's not going to go over very easy," Hosmer said. "Of course we're going to be angry. Of course we're going to be upset. But we'll find a way to get back at him."

Gator golf

Glenn Berger of Florida was an out-of-work thief 14 years ago when the idea struck him to start diving for golf balls at the bottom of lakes and selling them back to golf clubs for use on their driving ranges.

At a minimum of a $1 a ball -- some are worth double that -- Berger calculated he could make a pretty good living.

More than a decade later he claims he's fishes out anywhere between 1.3 million to 1.7 million balls a year across the golf course-rich state of Florida and has pocketed a tidy $15 million since beginning his career.

Of course there are risks in such a profession. Berger has encountered tables, golf carts, lawnmowers, snakes and his most feared work hazard -- alligators -- over the years.

"I really don't like to talk about alligators, but they happen and you learn how to deal with them," he said.

One of the most frightening experiences came in 2007 when an alligator crawled on to his back. Berger managed to escape without injury -- and with about 4,000 golf balls.

Berger told the Tampa Bay Times he competes for business with about 100 other full-time divers. They usually pay a fee -- either five cents a ball or a flat fee -- to work a particular course.

USA Today attempted to calculate how accurate Berger's claims were and discovered it was possible to make a million dollars a year retrieving skewed shots.

"The average golf course hosts about 30,000 18-hole rounds every year, and let's make a very conservative estimate an average golfer will lose 1.5 balls to a water hazard every 18 holes," it estimated.

"That would mean Berger would need exclusive rights once a year to retrieve all the golf balls from about 34 different course's water hazards. If he does that, he'd hit his "between 1.3 and 1.7 million golf balls" figure. A bit of a stretch, but certainly doable."

QUIZ

New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard was drafted when and by what team?

ANSWER

Syndergaard was drafted in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Sports on 11/01/2015

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