Roger Rubin: Mets' Francisco Lindor reminding fans that he's still Francisco Lindor
Mets’ Francisco Lindor is greeted in the dugout after his solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
No one should have needed a reminder, but Francisco Lindor sent one anyway Tuesday night.
With the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning of a tie game, the shortstop snared a sinking liner off the bat of Milwaukee’s David Hamilton and later scored the game-winning run in the opener of a series against the team with the best record in baseball. He has had the sort of disappointing season that no one could have expected but never stopped being the star who can shape the outcome of any game.
Maybe some needed the reminder that he is the same guy who finished in the top 10 of MVP voting the past four seasons (second in 2024).
Lindor has a career OPS of .814, but barely hit in March and April. He averaged just below 160 games played the previous four seasons, but was lost for two months to a calf injury. And when he got back from the IL, the two-time Gold Glover made seven errors in his first 32 games, even as his bat was coming around
He may no longer be performing for a team chasing a playoff spot – that die was mostly cast long before he returned from injury – but he is again a serious force in the batter’s box.
In his last 34 games entering Thursday’s series finale against the Brewers and NL Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski at Citi Field, Lindor had a .275/.371/.511 slash line with 20 runs scored, eight home runs, 14 extra-base hits and 21 RBIs. And that’s all out of the first two spots in the batting order.
“I'm trying to be the best version of myself right now, just like every other year,” Lindor told Newsday before first pitch on Thursday. “I know there was a moment there that I wasn’t the best version of myself. But I owe it to myself, I owe it to the organization, I owe it to my family and I owe it to the fan base to be that best version of myself.”
“He's one of the absolute best players in baseball – we know that,” interim manager Andy Green said. “I think [people] lost sight of how good he is through the injuries he [worked] through this year. And once he got to the other side of the injuries – he’s fully healthy – he’s playing baseball the way he's always played baseball.
“People say ‘he's really good again’. Yeah, he's always been that.”
We’ve seen plenty of athletes wither in the harsh glare and criticism they receive when they don’t perform well in New York. It may not have been as harsh with Lindor because the 32-year-old has some reservoir of good will built up. He believes there have been no final judgements about him and remains confident.
“I always know who I am, but this part of why I love New York and the competition and the way you need to bring it every day,” Lindor said. “I don’t see it as people might have forgotten who I am. There are ebbs and flows to a season and those will determine who I am in that year. . . . This season isn’t over.”
The Mets started the season with the same short-term goals as every other, to win the game played that day. They also had long-term goals, like a postseason, pennant or championship that have gone by the boards. But there are still goals that can be met in this final month because, as Lindor pointed out, this season isn’t over.
“You obviously want to see guys have great seasons,” Green said. “You want to see guys finish strong. You want to see guys hit numbers that mean something to them. The best way to do that is to win the game today. And I know that sounds really basic, but it really is that simple. If you're sold out to win, you play better. If you're sitting there consumed with ‘where am I at?’ you don't hit as well. You don't pitch as well.”
Asked about the importance of the younger players (Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Nolan McLean, for example) showing how much more they can do with a mind toward next season and beyond, Lindor suggested that the veterans also need to have that mentality.
“They're at least trying to hit their standard,” he said. “Obviously, it hasn't been the year we all wanted, but I see every guy here trying to perfect their craft and get better.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
