New York Mets' David Stearns Makes Major Francisco Lindor Endorsement

New York Mets president David Stearns offered one of the most doting assessments of Francisco Lindor's season to date.

Sep 2, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates after hitting a RBI single in the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns believes that Francisco Lindor's 2024 season will be viewed as valuable for not just this year but through the archives of all of Queens history.

Speaking on Tuesday as the Mets (74-64) continue to make their playoff case, Stearns was asked what a "most valuable player look(s) like." Stearns hardly hesitated when declaring "the guy who runs out to shortstop every day for us at 7:00" was most deserving of the 2024 National League MVP but he refused to stop there.

"It's been an unbelievable season to watch," Stearns told reporters, via SNY. "We're getting to the point where we're talking about perhaps the greatest individual position player season in the history of this franchise. I've been around some really special seasons, been around some MVP seasons. This is right up there with anything I've seen on a day-to-day basis."

Entering Tuesday night's action, Lindor currently appears in the NL's top five in hits (153), runs (95), and home runs (29). While he's probably not in line to overtake any traditional single-season Mets records, his offensive WAR of 6.0 is already tied for the ninth-best in Mets history with Bernard Gilkey (1996) and David Wright (2005). Howard Johnson is the all-time leader at 8.0 in 1989 according to Baseball Reference.

If the Mets, currently a half-game out of the sixth and final NL playoff seed, wind up swiping a postseason spot, calls for Lindor to become the first in franchise history to win the MVP title will only increase.

Lindor's next chance to fulfill Stearns' vision lands on Tuesday night when the Mets continue a series against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field (7:10 p.m. ET, SNY).