All in With John Jastremski

The Mets Have A Leader… In Lindor

When the Mets acquired Francisco Lindor in January of 2021 from the Cleveland Indians, it was a trade full of fanfare and expectations.

Lindor was the face of the franchise for the Cleveland franchise, he was the first big move of the Steve Cohen era and there’s not exactly a grace period for players here in the big city.

Lindor’s first year in Flushing was far from storybook.

There was a controversy with Jeff McNeil, remember rat raccoon!? 

Yeah, me too.

Remember Lindor sticking up for Javy Baez after his ridiculous thumbs down stint?

After Lindor’s first season, it was fair to question if he had the right makeup to handle being a New York athlete.

That was year one, fast forward a couple of seasons and Lindor has become the quintessential New York athlete.

It starts with performance. Since the 2022 season, Francisco Lindor has flat out performed and performed at a high level.

There is no debating that Lindor has played like one of the best shortstops in baseball.

The fact that over the last three years, Lindor has not been named to one All Star team is mind boggling and ridiculously unfair. 

2024 has been Lindor’s best season as a Met. 

He has delivered with power, speed, defense and winning intangibles. 

Lindor has gotten the big hit, made the big play and has let his play on the field do the talking. 

According to the advanced stat, (WAR), wins above replacement for those of you keeping score at home. Lindor ranks as a Top 5 player in the National League.

In many ways, Lindor’s surge from May on has propelled the 2024 Mets from the abyss to the center of the NL Playoff conversation.

He also has featured a sense of growth and maturity of now totally “getting it” as a New York athlete.

When the Mets season was spiraling in Mid May, Lindor’s leadership in a players only meeting has been well documented by many of his teammates.

Lindor recently sat down with ESPN’s Jeff Passan to discuss his Mets tenure and was quite candid and open.

When Lindor was asked about what will officially define success for him as a Met, he mentioned handing a World Series trophy to Steve and Alex Cohen.

Lindor’s career arc in New York is a valuable lesson.

Don’t give up on a player after one year and let their play and actions define them.

Lindor has gotten better and better.

He deserves MVP conversation and has clearly emerged as the face of the Mets.

Just the way that Steve Cohen drew it up…