Noah Seth Syndergaard was born on August 29, 1992, in Mansfield, Texas. He is an American professional baseball pitcher nicknamed “Thor” for his powerful fastball and long blonde hair.
Podcast listeners widely believe he is the person Alex Cooper referred to as “Slim Shady” on her hit show Call Her Daddy.
Who is Alex Cooper’s Ex-Boyfriend, Slim Shady?
Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast, has always given her ex-boyfriends code names to protect their identities.
Names like Door No. 3, The Canadian, and Mr. Sexy Zoom Man all belonged to real men she dated.
“Slim Shady” is among the most recognized names she has used, and fans spent years piecing together clues about who he was.
Reddit listeners eventually identified Slim Shady as Noah Syndergaard, a former New York Mets pitcher.
Cooper confirmed to Bustle that she began dating Syndergaard during her senior year at Boston University, which aligned with the timeline she described on the show.
In April 2017, Cooper and Syndergaard attended a New York Knicks game together, which the New York Post covered at the time.
That public appearance gave fans the confirmation they needed. “Slim Shady” was Noah Syndergaard.
Early Life of Noah Syndergaard
Noah Syndergaard grew up in Mansfield, Texas, in a football-heavy environment. His family, like many in the region, prioritized the sport. However, at his mother’s urging, he began playing baseball at age seven.
His father, Brad Syndergaard, is a horse trainer. His mother, Heidi, works as a customer service agent at Abbott Laboratories.
Syndergaard has described both parents as key pillars in his development, with his father serving as a coaching presence at every level of his career.
He attended Mansfield Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas. Syndergaard had limited contact with two paternal half-sisters, who were significantly older than him.
Noah Syndergaard Age
Noah Syndergaard is 33 years old as of 2026, born on August 29, 1992. His birthday falls after August 22, so he has not yet turned 34 this year. His zodiac sign is Virgo.
He made his MLB debut with the New York Mets on May 12, 2015, at 22 years old.
Noah Syndergaard Ethnicity and Nationality
Noah Syndergaard is American by nationality, born and raised in Texas. His ethnic background is mixed European, with Danish, Norwegian, English, German, and Welsh heritage.
His family roots reflect the deep American Midwest, with his father described in interviews as an Iowa farmboy turned horse trainer. Syndergaard grew up in a tight-knit Texas household shaped by both parents.
Noah Syndergaard Height and Weight
Syndergaard stands at 6 feet 6 inches tall, or approximately 198 centimeters. His playing weight is 242 pounds, roughly 109 kilograms.
His imposing frame contributed to his nickname “Thor” and gave him a physical advantage on the mound.
The size allowed him to generate a fastball that regularly touched 99 to 101 mph during his peak years with the Mets.
Noah Syndergaard Education
Syndergaard attended Mansfield Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas. In 2010, his senior year, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram named him their player of the year after he finally broke through as a pitcher following a growth spurt and weight training regimen.
He had committed to Dallas Baptist University to play baseball, but he turned down the scholarship when the Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the 2010 MLB Draft. He chose professional baseball over college from the start.
Noah Syndergaard Career
Syndergaard’s career spans nearly a decade in Major League Baseball. He pitched for five MLB organizations: the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Guardians.
His career numbers through 2023 show a 59-47 win-loss record, a 3.71 ERA, and 928 strikeouts in 941 innings pitched.
His path to the majors was unconventional. Late development in high school meant scouts largely overlooked him before his senior season breakthrough.
Junior Career and the Blue Jays System
The Toronto Blue Jays selected Syndergaard in the first round, 38th overall, of the 2010 MLB Draft. He received a $600,000 signing bonus and began working his way through their minor league system.
In 2012, he pitched the full season for the Lansing Lugnuts in the Midwest League, going 8-5 with a 2.60 ERA across 27 games.
On December 17, 2012, the Blue Jays traded him to the New York Mets along with Travis d’Arnaud in exchange for Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.
In the Mets system, he continued developing. By 2014, he pitched for the Las Vegas 51s of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, fine-tuning his secondary pitches ahead of his inevitable call-up.
MLB Debut and Breakout Seasons with the Mets
Syndergaard made his MLB debut on May 12, 2015, stepping in after an injury to Dillon Gee.
He finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting that season. That same year, the Mets reached the World Series for the first time since 2000.
Syndergaard started Game 3 of the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field, with the Mets trailing the series 2-0.
He threw six innings in the Mets’ 9-3 victory, making news in the very first inning when he threw a high-and-inside fastball over the head of leadoff hitter Alcides Escobar.
His 2016 season stood as the best of his career. Syndergaard went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA across 183 innings, earned his only All-Star selection, and ranked among the hardest-throwing starters in all of baseball.
In May 2016, he became the first pitcher to hit two home runs in a single game since Micah Owings did it for Arizona on August 18, 2007.
Injuries and Later Career
A torn latissimus dorsi muscle derailed his 2017 season, limiting his availability. In March 2020, during pandemic-era spring training, Syndergaard required Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, causing him to miss the entire shortened 2020 season.
He returned briefly in September 2021, making two starts for the Mets before becoming a free agent.
In November 2021, he signed a one-year, $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, then went to the Philadelphia Phillies mid-season via trade.
The Phillies advanced to the 2022 World Series with Syndergaard on the roster, though the Houston Astros ultimately won the series.
In 2023, Syndergaard split time between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians, posting a 6.50 ERA across 18 starts.
The Guardians released him in August 2023, and his last MLB appearance came on August 27, 2023.
Recent Career Status
Syndergaard sat out the entire 2024 MLB season, training in Texas and working on his mechanics while searching for a team.
In June 2025, he signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago White Sox and reported to their Arizona facility.
After giving up nine runs in two starts with Triple-A Charlotte, the White Sox released him in August 2025.
As of August 2026, Syndergaard is a free agent. He has not appeared in an MLB game since August 2023.
Noah Syndergaard Career Stats and Records
Syndergaard’s career MLB numbers through his 2023 season are as follows:
- Win-Loss Record: 59-47
- ERA: 3.71
- Strikeouts: 928
- WHIP: 1.196
- Teams: New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Guardians
His best single season came in 2016 when he posted a 2.60 ERA with 218 strikeouts and 183 innings pitched.
That same season, the average velocity of his four-seam fastball ranked highest among all major league starting pitchers.
Noah Syndergaard Awards and Recognition
The 2016 MLB All-Star Game selection remains Syndergaard’s only formal All-Star honor. He appeared in the midsummer classic that year following his dominant first half with the Mets.
In the 2015 World Series, his Game 3 start helped the Mets avoid being swept. The Mets eventually lost the series to Kansas City, four games to one, but Syndergaard’s pitching that October drew widespread praise across the sport.
He also represented the United States in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, pitching for Team USA.
Noah Syndergaard and Alex Cooper
Alex Cooper first met Syndergaard via Instagram during her senior year at Boston University.
The two began dating in the spring of 2017 and attended a Knicks game together in April of that year, their first confirmed public appearance.
Cooper later described the relationship on her podcast as turbulent despite looking polished from the outside. “We loved walking in a room together.
We didn’t like how we felt being in a room together,” she said on her “I Have a Boyfriend” episode. Syndergaard announced their breakup in December 2017 via a tweet that read “Baseball is my significant other,” alongside an image of his relationship status changing to single.
The two reportedly reconnected briefly after the initial split. However, Cooper stated on a February 2021 episode of Call Her Daddy that things fell apart again when the relationship returned to its previous patterns.
In September 2023, Cooper made an unfiltered comment on her show referencing a former athlete, saying “He can’t get a f–king contract,” which fans connected to Syndergaard given his free-agent status at the time.
Syndergaard addressed the remark publicly in 2026 on OutKick’s “Tomi Lahren Is Fearless” podcast, calling it a “cheap shot” but acknowledging Cooper’s right to say it.
He noted he had not spoken to her in eight years. Cooper has since married film producer Matt Kaplan.
Noah Syndergaard Net Worth
Noah Syndergaard’s estimated net worth is $30 million as of 2026. His earnings came primarily from his MLB contracts over an eight-season career in the major leagues.
His most lucrative deal came in November 2021 when he signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Earlier in his career, the New York Mets extended him a one-year qualifying offer worth $18.4 million. Over his career, his combined MLB contract earnings total tens of millions of dollars.
Outside baseball, Syndergaard made a brief appearance in the 2020 TV series Vikings, in which he played the character Thorbjorn. He has also maintained a strong social media presence throughout his career.
Noah Syndergaard Social Media
Syndergaard maintains an active presence on X, formerly Twitter, under the handle @Noahsyndergaard. He joined the platform in August 2011 and built one of the larger MLB player followings on the network.
He also posts on Instagram under @nsyndergaard. His social media activity has been noted by media outlets as unusually engaging for a professional athlete, frequently featuring humor and direct interaction with fans.
The Bottom Line
Noah Syndergaard earned his only MLB All-Star selection in 2016 while posting a career-best 2.60 ERA with the New York Mets, the same year he became the first pitcher in nine years to hit two home runs in a single game.
His 2015 World Series start in Game 3 against the Kansas City Royals helped him establish his reputation as a big-game pitcher early in his career. His connection to Alex Cooper brought him a new audience outside baseball.
Cooper discussed their 2017 on-and-off relationship on Call Her Daddy under the nickname “Slim Shady,” and Syndergaard addressed her 2023 comments publicly in 2026 on OutKick, calling her remarks a “cheap shot” but noting he holds no lasting resentment.
As of 2026, Syndergaard is a free agent following a minor-league stint with the Chicago White Sox in 2025.
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