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Syndergaard Celebrates Day Before Subway Series With Baseball Camp For Kids

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The second half of the baseball season starts Friday for the Yankees and Mets with part two of their Subway Series at Yankee Stadium, and Noah Syndergaard will be on the mound for the Mets.

On Thursday, he spent his final day off with some kids at a baseball camp in New Jersey, reports CBS2's Otis Livingston.

The youngsters were full of questions for the star.

"Will you have three strikeouts tomorrow?" one little boy asked.

"I hope I have a lot more than three," the pitcher replied.

"Will you throw a no-hitter tomorrow?" another boy asked.

"I'm gonna try... They're a good team," the pitcher replied.

But not all the questions were about baseball. Somebody even asked the man nicknamed "Thor" if his long blond locks bother him when he pitches.

"It's worth it, having the hair so," answered Syndergaard.

"How long did it take to grow your hair?" one boy asked.

"I've been growing it out for the last three years, now I'm just in a maintenance phase," answered Syndergaard.

It's been a rough season for Syndergaard and the Mets. He was injured since late May until making a successful return last Friday.

He and Mets ace Jacob deGrom have been at the center of trade rumors recently, but the fan favorite is hoping he stays put in the Big Apple.

"I love New York City," he said. "I love doing things like this, seeing all the young Mets fans out here and it brings a lot of joy to myself personally.

"I've embraced New York City and New York has embraced me, and hopefully I can stay a Met for the remainder of my career," he continued. "But for right now, I really have no say in that. I have zero control over it."

The Citi Noah Syndergaard Baseball Pro Camp works with Tickets For Kids Charities to provide camp scholarships to disadvantaged kids.

Thursday's group consisted of roughly 200 youngsters in grades 1 thru 8 - mostly Met fans, but ironically, it was a Yankees fan that won the homerun hitting contest with Syndergaard pitching.

"It feels really good," said Gavin D'Altrui. "It's fun to hit off of him, too."

The Subway Series will feature two teams headed in opposite directions: The Yankees near the top of the majors, the Mets closer to the bottom. But after losing two of three on their home field in June, expect the Mets to be geared up for a win in the series.

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