Mets star Francisco Lindor was an all-time All-Star snub this year. But if this keeps up, he needs to enter the MVP conversation.
If it’s up to me, that starts today.
Sure, the award for now seems more likely go to the incomparable DH, Shohei Ohtani, who is doing otherworldly things again out on the West Coast with LA. However, Lindor is deserving of at least some words, so here goes 850 of them about the best player on a team that’s killing it now and suddenly looks destined for the playoffs.
An unstoppable force since being moved to the leadoff spot 56 games ago by manager Carlos Mendoza, Lindor crashed two home runs and knocked home five runs as the surging Mets once again walloped American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole and assorted pinstriped mop-up men Wednesday night. The team from Queens made it a four-game season sweep over the Yankees with a 12-3 victory that devolved into glorified batting practice before another sold-out, mostly disappointed crowd of 48,760 at Yankee Stadium.
Although the Yankees maintain a better record by 5 ½ games, there should be little debate over which is the better team in New York today. The depleted Yankees are merely trying to get by with a two-superstar lineup, and that’s just not very likely to work against superior squads.
Meantime, the Mets obviously have a lot going for them, and right at the top of that list is Lindor, who puts together stat combinations very few players can even dream about. He is one of 14 players to gather 15 homers, 15 stolen bases and 25 doubles by the All-Star break, and one of two this year, along with Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. It’s even more remarkable when you consider Lindor was basically an out machine in April.
“My man is doing some very, very special things,” Mets starter Sean Manaea said of Lindor. “He’s definitely in the [MVP] conversation.”
Every once in a while — usually in April when it’s crummy out and Lindor is doing even crummier — we hear about how overrated Lindor is.
Or, we hear about how overpaid he is (and I get it, this is a favorite complaint of sports fans now that ballplayers are making money like lottery winners).
But that kind of talk should stop right here, right now.
Pay is a tricky thing, but I’d submit that among the megamillion baseball winners (over $150 million), Lindor’s contract looks way more reasonable than most. And I’m here to tell you that not only is Lindor not overrated, if anything he is underrated.
If he’s overrated, why did he not join Witt and the other 70 or so players (counting replacements) at the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas? The excuse I heard is that the National League is stacked with shortstops. OK, I get why the exciting Elly De La Cruz made it as a backup to Trea Turner. But C.J. Abrams? Sure, he has terrific potential. But that is no contest. Not yet it isn’t.
It’s a week later and Lindor ranks third among National League position players with a 4.1 WAR (and sure to rise after Wednesday night), trailing only Ohtani (5.6) and Arizona’s Ketel Marte (5.2). Erase that first month, and Lindor is actually better than anyone.
“Right now I’m in a good way,” Lindor said. “I’m trying to ride that as long as I can.”
Lindor holds a .304 batting average and .565 slugging percentage since moving to the leadoff spot 56 games ago, and he continues to play glorious defense. His eight outs above average rank third among MLB shortstops, behind Anthony Volpe (10) and De La Cruz (9).
Remember how folks were complaining last year when he posted a 30-30 season while playing a brilliant shortstop. (He also did not make the All-Star team last year, and hasn’t made it once as a Met after making it four times in Cleveland.) I get it, Mets fans were slightly depressed last year. But this was supposed to be the transitional year in Queens, and Lindor is leading a lineup as deep as anyone.
The Mets are no transitional team. They are not a team shooting for 2025 and beyond, not now they aren’t. The Mets have a deep and very solid rotation. And they have a threat at nearly every spot in the order now that Jeff McNeil is getting his groove back (and finding some unexpected power).
Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos joined Lindor in hitting homers, and it wasn’t just the stars. Backup Tyrone Taylor, whose 5-for-10 lifetime ledger against Cole caused Mendoza to give him a shot in the No. 9 hole, made it 8-for-13. He also homered. He is the Rafael Devers of the Mets, a stone Cole killer.
Lately, Lindor is brilliant against practically everyone. While Ohtani is most likely to become the first DH to win MVP, if this keeps up Lindor could join Kirk Gibson and Bryce Harper as rare stars winning the MVP after being snubbed for the Midsummer Classic. The conversation is just beginning.