Indians Francisco Lindor Gives Fans Many Reasons to ‘Smile’

By Mike Holzheimer It might be time for Cleveland to forget about who it lost in the professional sports arena, and focus on who is here playing for the

By Mike Holzheimer

It might be time for Cleveland to forget about who it lost in the professional sports arena, and focus on who is here playing for the hometown

There is a lot to be happy about if you’re an Indians fan, and such happiness can be found standing between the positions of second and third base inside Progressive Field.

Francisco Lindor, Cleveland’s starting shortstop, who is affectionately known as “Mr. Smile,” is a real superstar on the baseball diamond-and you’ve got him Northeast Ohio.

Lindor, who can always be spotted grinning from ear-to-ear, plays the game with passion, enthusiasm and an enjoyment not often seen at the highest level of sports.

Lindor just has fun when playing the game. His production, though, both offensively and defensively that has seen him accumulate stats that are beyond belief, hasn’t exactly been a humorous experience for those trying to get a ground ball past him, or attempting to figure out a way to silence his efforts inside the batter’s box.

In an earlier game against Kansas City, Lindor had his teammates doubling over with laughter by way of an impressive seven RBIs that included a grand-slam home run and a three-run blast propelling the Tribe to a 9-3 triumph over the Royals.

His bases-loaded swat against KC starter Jakob Junis was certainly a “no-doubter” traveling 409 feet over the right field fence of Kaufmann Stadium, while the three-run shot came against the same Junis in Lindor’s next at-bat traveling a bit further at 418 feet that more than put the exclamation point on this victory.

Lindor may be considered a cleanup hitter in the leadoff spot, and his numbers would validate such a claim, but he isn’t really looking to go deep when he steps to the plate.

“My approach is to hit the ball and wherever it goes, it goes. If it goes out, it goes out,” Lindor told the media following his record-setting night.

Lindor tied former Indian Brandon Moss in terms of recording seven runs in a contest. Moss accomplished such a feat against the Texas Rangers on April 24, 2015. The only other Tribe shortstop with seven RBIs in a game, who just happened to do it against a Kansas City team (then the Athletics), was Chico Carrasquel back on April 26, 1956.

He joined other Tribe greats in Manny Ramirez (Sept. 24, 1999 vs. Toronto), Vic Wertz (Sept. 14, 1957 vs. Boston) and Pat Seerey (July 13, 1945 vs. the Yankees) to hit a grand slam and a three-run homer in the same game.

Lindor, a two-time all-star and Gold Glove winner, was drafted by the Indians in the first round (8th) in the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft and made his big league debut June 4, 2015 recording his first hit against the Detroit Tigers. At press time, he is .300 with 23 home runs and 55 runs batted in. He has scored 73 runs with 103 hits.

And while he is currently running third in the 2018 All-Star game voting for starting shortstops behind Baltimore’s Manny Machado (1,272,233) and Houston’s Carlos Correa (1,135,152), Lindor (898,977) should make the trip to Washington for the annual Mid-Summer Classic as a reserve.

Starter or non-starter, he is certainly all-star worthy of a selection by World Series championship manager A.J. Hinch (Astros) who will lead the AL all-stars.

Lindor’s passion and pride for the game was something a nationally televised audience witnessed earlier this season, and in Lindor’s homeland of Puerto Rico.

Who will ever forget his reaction towards the fans as he circled the bases following another majestic home run bringing joy and euphoria to every fan inside that ballpark during ESPN’s telecast of the Indians-Minnesota Twins contest?

That night, despite his team losing a marathon contest against the Twins in extra innings, Lindor scored a huge win for his beloved Puerto Rico, the fans and Major League Baseball itself.

The young “Phenom” continues to amaze his teammates, manager and the Cleveland broadcasters who cover him on a daily basis.

“There is so much this guy can do on a baseball field that others can’t,” former Tribe Gold Glove outfielder and current SportsTime Ohio Tribe color analyst Rick Manning said, during a recent telecast.

Lindor does a lot off the field as well. He, along with other MLB players from Puerto Rico including teammate Roberto Perez, stepped up and delivered whatever they could in terms of food, clothing, housing, water and even baseball clinics to those residents and kids so devastated by Hurricane Maria.

Lindor spends a lot of time following his intense pregame preparation, walking towards the grandstands where thousands of youngsters patiently wait to get an autograph, a handshake, or even a hug accompanied by that famous smile.

Lindor is a true ambassador of the game, and a franchise player for the Indians. What he does on the field, both with the glove and the bat, are things that continue to bring the fans back to the ballpark. One may never know what new franchise or MLB record this young talent may achieve on that given day or night.

But one thing is for sure, many spectators will want to be there to see such an effort, and so they continue to come through the turnstiles.

As Lindor charges onto the field, as only he can, the Indians have a star that shines brightly on the diamond. The expressions say it all and are ones that continue to radiate throughout his baseball home in Cleveland, and his native homeland of Puerto Rico.

Both fan bases show Lindor the love, and he returns such affection with that patented smile that says “I love this game.”