Noah Syndergaard's Game 3 first pitch now up for auction

The most talked about pitch from World Series Game 3 contiues to be the very first pitch. New York Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard opened the game throwing high and tight to Kansas City Royals leadoff man Alcides Escobar, sending a clear message after Escobar established a trend of swinging and producing on the game's first pitch.

Should the Mets come all the way back to win the series, that may even go down as the most talked about pitch of the entire World Series and postseason. Sure, it may not have produced an out or helped Syndergaard get off to a good start (he allowed three runs in the first two innings) but it set a different tone after Royals batters blitzed Mets pitching at Kauffman Stadium.

[Noah Syndergaard's pitch at Alcides Escobar's head sets tone for Mets' Game 3 victory]

The team that plays better baseball will ultimately win the series, but that one pitch will be viewed as a turning point if it goes the Mets way. With that in mind, that could make the baseball behind the pitch, which was immediately thrown out of a play, a hot item if fans could get their hands on it.

Would you believe, they actually can? The baseball was put up for auction on MLB.com.

This is real. The baseball could be yours, though it looks like it'll be costly. Saturday's bidding is already over $2,000, and there are still six days to go. In fact, by the time bidding closes, we'll have a World Series winner, which could influence the demand and bidding even more.

Of course, that's not the only notable item from the World Series up for bid.

Among the others? How about Alcides Escobar's first-pitch inside-the-park home run against Matt Harvey from Game 1.

That was the original tonesetter in the series, and that too will cost a pretty penny.

Will Game 4's first pitch join them? That's the question now. Long Island native Steven Matz will be throwing it to Escobar, and we're guessing it won't be a strike.

[Related: Noah Syndergaard challenges the Royals to a fight after beating them in Game 3]

All we know for sure is the anticipation is building, especially following the Royals postgame response to Syndergaard's pitch. They weren't happy, and based on Ned Yost's comments on Saturday, they'll be armed with their own tricks in Game 4.

"I didn't expect him to throw a strike, but I didn't expect him to throw it under his chin, either. But we've got a few tricks up our sleeves, too. Let's go with that."

Yost specifically said no retaliation, but this sounds like a game where you'll want to avoid missing a pitch if at all possible.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813