All throughout the 2015 postseason, Alcides Escober swung at the first pitch of the game.  In Game 1 of the World Series it led to an inside-the-park home run due largely in part to a Yoenis Cespedes misplay in center.  In Game 2 of the World Series, he flew out to right field.  In Game 3 of the World Series, Escobar didn’t swing at the first pitch:

Instead, Escobar took at step back at a pitch that was up and in from Noah Syndergaard.

After the game, when asked about the pitch, Syndergaard informed the Royals, and frankly all of baseball, that if anyone has a problem with the way he pitches, teams can meet him on the mound.

The next time Syndergaard pitched was in the second game of the regular season in Kansas City.  There was no controversy at the time as he never moved any of the Royals off the plate.  Also, since he never came up to bat, there was no fear of retribution from the Royals whatsoever.  Today is a different story.  Today, Syndergaard takes the mound against the Royals at Citi Field.  At some point during the first three innings, he is going to dig in at the batter’s box, and the Royals are going to have an opportunity to exact revenge against Syndergaard the way he tried to exact revenge against Chase Utley this season.

Keep in mind, the Royals don’t shy away from throwing at batters.  It was just this month that Yordano Ventura sparked a brawl by continuously throwing inside to Manny Machado until he finally hit him. Even with the Royals starting Danny Duffy, the chance for retribution remains. This is the same Royals team that was involved in five benches clearing incidents last year. They’re not afraid of another. They won’t be afraid of plunking Syndergaard. 

If it does, it will be very interesting to see how Syndergaard, the umpires, and the Mets respond.