New York Mets All-Star a Bright Spot in a Lost Season
Despite a season that would be considered a failure in New York from a team perspective, New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor continues to build on a historic career.
On Aug. 19, Lindor stole a base in a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates to record the third 20-20 season of his career (20 stolen bases, 20 home runs.)
This milestone was the first time a Met achieved a 20-20 season since New York Legend Carlos Beltran in 2008. Manager Buck Showalter was impressed, as per usual, by the shortstop’s historic feat.
“That’s pretty good company,” Showalter said. “You have to step back and go through rosters for years, and it will get your attention. It’s another very quiet milestone Lindor reaches to remind us all what a splendid player he is.”
On top of that, this season puts Lindor amongst the great shortstops of the game, with Ian Desmond logging three, Hanley Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano logging four each in their careers and the likes of Alex Rodriguez, who logged three straight such campaigns as a shortstop, logging five.
Many have been harsh on Lindor this season, with his drop in batting average (.270 to .255) and a tough start to the campaign being something that fans can point to when wondering how a season loaded with talent has resulted in a 59-69 campaign with 25 games left. However, when you take a deeper look, Lindor is having his best individual season as a Met.
Lindor’s .810 OPS and .470 slugging rank as the highest since he joined New York in 2021. His 29 doubles comfortably sits as his highest in New York and is doing so in only 474 at-bats. He also has 22 Stolen Bases with a decent portion of the season left, and he will have a chance to break his career high of 25 with Cleveland in 2018. He will also likely eclipse his best walk total with the Mets (59) barring any injuries.
Jose Reyes, widely considered to be one of, if not the greatest shortstop to put on a Mets jersey, logged zero 20-20 seasons in his illustrious career for New York, though his career high 78 stolen bases in one season seems video game-like compared to Lindor’s career high of 25. Two different shortstops, but both could be considered the greatest talents at the position that the Mets have ever seen.
Lindor could have phoned in the season after his sub-.230 start to the year or when things looked increasingly like the Mets would miss a postseason bid, but teammate Brandon Nimmo credits his shortstop for always showing up for his team.
“With him starting off a little slow, obviously, he was disappointed with it, but he never lets it affect him,” Nimmo said. “He always knows that it takes a long time to have a good season. He’s an unbelievable player, and I’m glad to have him on my team. He just shows up and is very professional every single day.”
There is no doubt that New York will need Lindor, one of the game’s best, as often as they can get him when next season rolls around and the expectations are reset. There are bound to be roster moves made to add some life, but New York will be relying on cornerstones like Lindor to push for the World Series championship that has eluded them since 1986.
