It’s pretty rare for a baseball pitcher, even one in the major leagues, to hit a homerun. Even rarer to hit two in the same game. But that’s what New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard (nickname: Thor) did last night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Definitely weird—but the weirdest part was what Syndergaard’s homer had in common with the last time a pitcher clubbed two dingers.
As a reader of the sports site Deadspin pointed out:
On August 6, 1983 Walt Terrell hit 2 HRs as a pitcher for the NYM. The last pitcher to hit 2 HRs for the Mets until…
Tonight, May 11, 2016 Noah Syndergarrd, Mets Pitcher hit 2HRs. May 11, also happens to be Walt Terrell’s birthday. Mind blown? You just wait.
Syndergarrd’s 2nd HR was a 3 run HR. The last Met pitcher to hit a 3 run HR? Ron Darling who was traded to the Mets from the Rangers with Walt Terrell.
Ron Darling did the color for the Mets TV broadcast tonight.
Eerie.
Of course, some of us are more prone than others when it comes to attaching divine significance to coincidences. In 2010, a group of rescued miners found comfort in repeated appearances of the number 33.
Residents of Littleton, Colorado thought this weird vine resembled Jesus on the cross.
But as my colleague Dan Hoffman will tell you in an upcoming post, seeking meaning in coincidences is not a bad thing. By paying attention to these coincidences and wondering about them, we open ourselves up to the mysteries of the universe.
What can we draw from Noah Syndergaard’s home runs? Well, maybe it’s just the idea that the big moments in our lives don’t happen in a vacuum—they’re tied to events, people, and places far beyond our own experiences. We’ve already heard plenty of stories that tell us God can be found even on the baseball diamond: In a fortuitous foul ball, the wisdom of a mysterious junkball pitcher, or the personal testimony of the greatest closer of all time.
What coincidences have made you wonder? How have they connected you with others? Share your stories with us.
