Francisco Lindor- The Mets Years Part One (2021 - 2023)
Mr. Smile: Francisco is known as Mr. Smile as he always walks around enthusiastic with a smile on his face. A very positive & friendly person on as well as off the field.
At 12 years old, Lindor would move to Montverde, Florida becoming a star high school baseball player there. The school would eventually name the baseball field after him.
In 2011, Lindor was a first-round pick of the Cleveland Indians, the 8th picks overall.
In his first season he came in second in the MVP voting batting .313 in 99 games. He made four straight All-Star teams in the following years & win two Gold Gloves at short stop.
He would lead the league in runs scored (2018) at bats twice (2017 & 2018) & games played in the Covid-19 season.
Mets Career: On January 7th, 2021, the Mets got Francisco Lindor & Carlos Carrasco in exchange for Amed Rosario, Andres Giminez, Josh Wolf & Isaiah Green. Just hours before Opening Day they agreed to a ten-year $341 million dollar contract extension.
2021 Season: On April 5th at Citi Field, Francisco Lindor made his Mets debut on Opening Day, collecting a hit in his final at bat of the 5-3 loss to the Phillies. The next day he would drive in his first run with a sac fly in an 8-4 win. On April 21st, he hit his first Mets HR in a loss at Wrigley Field.
Francisco struggled mightily in his first season at New York, not hitting over .200 until early June. Surprisingly the Mets under manager Luis Rojas were over performing & found themselves in first place.
On June 23rd in a 7-3 win over Atlanta at Citi Field, Lindor hit a two run HR off the Braves Kyle Wright. He added an RBI hit in the 8th inning giving him a multi-three RBI game. It was his second game of three or more RBIs in the season.
Keller for his tenth HR of the season in a 13-4 Met win at Citi Field.
Oblique Injury: Lindor began to hit better batting .333 with a .454 slugging % in July, but then injury struck.
After the All-Star break on he strained an oblique muscle & was out for six weeks. When he went down the Mets were in first place, when he returned to the line up in late August the Mets had fallen 5.5 games back & were fading fast.
Most of these sorry Mets would be gone at the end of the season, with Lindor remaining & slowly gaining back respect.
In September he did come back to have his best month, as he hit 9 HRs & drove in 25 runs, the most in a month in his career up to that point.
On September 11th, the Mets felt the AL New York team was stealing pitches, things would come to a head in the next game.
Multi- Three HR Game & Some Drama: On September 12th in the subway series at Citi Field, Lindor hit a career high three HRs in a game. In the 2nd inning, he homered off Clarke Schmidt with two men on. In the 6th, he hit a solo shot off Wandy Peralta. Lindor was whistling past the AL New York teams dug out rounding the bases.
When the AL's Gian Carlo Stanton homered & rounded the bases, he had words for Lindor. The two exchanged some unpleasantries as both benches cleared but cooler heads prevailed as no punches were thrown.
Then in the 8th inning, Lindor got the last laugh, when he hit a solo HR off Chad Green breaking a 6-6 tie leading to the Mets 7-6 win, taking the series two games to one.
Mets Trivia: Lindor became the 14th Met in franchise history to have a three HR game & the 11th Met to HR from both sides of the plate.
HRs in Back-to-Back Games: On September 26th & September 28th he homered in back-to-back games, for the first time in his Mets career. On September 26th, he hit a 1st inning HR off the Brewers Freddy Peralta, reaching 20 HRs for the fourth time in his career, becoming the second Mets short stop to hit as many. Asdrubal Cabrera had hit 22 in 2016.
Lindor's three RBIs on the September 28th game, gave him seven games with three or more runs driven in on the season.
On September 30th in a 12-3 win over the Marlins at Citi Field, he hit his second grand slam of the year, his fourth career slam, which came off Luis Madero in the 8th inning. It was Lindor's 14th multi- RBI game of the season.1000th Career Hit: On October 2nd in a loss in Atlanta, he hit his third triple of the season, marking his 100th career hit.
In his first season in New York, Lindor hit just .230 with 20 HRs 16 doubles 3 triples 73 runs scored & 63 RBIs. He struck out 96 times with 58 walks & ten stolen bases in 14 attempts. He posted a .322 on base % & .734 OPS. He played in 125 games posting a .970 fielding % making ten errors.
2022 Season: On an exciting Opening Day with enthusiasm for the new season, he collected a hit & an RBI single in the Mets 5-1 win in D.C. From April 10th to April 12th, Lindor drove in runs in three straight games.
Multi- HR Game: On April 15th in a 10-3 win over Arizona at the Citi Field home opener, Lindor homered from both sides of the plate, connecting off Zach Davies & Caleb Smith in his only multi-HR game of the season.
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00th Career RBI: On May 23rd, in a 13-3 Mets win in San Francisco Lindor doubled in the 3rd inning off Alex Cobb, driving in two runs giving New York a 2-0 lead. The runs gave him his 500th career RBI. Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil & Mark Canha all homered in the Mets 18 hit attack.
Multi- Six RBI Game: On May 24th in a walk off loss to the Giants, Lindor would have a season high six RBI game. It matched his 2021 Mets career high six RBI game. In 2018 with Cleveland, he had had a career high seven RBI game.
The next night the Met lost their first series of the year, falling to the Giants 9-3. Lindor hit his 8th HR of the year, driving in his 33rd run, keeping the RBI game streak alive at four games.
On May 27th, back at Citi Field, the Mets came back from six runs down to the second place Phillies for an exciting 8-6 win. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Lindor singled driving in Starling Marte for his fifth straight RBI game.
On May 28th, 
the Mets blew out the Phils 8-2 as Taijuan Walker collected his third win (3-0).
In the bottom of the 5th, Lindor hit his second triple of the year, bringing in Luis Guillorme & Starling Marte.
In the 7th with Guillorme & Marte both on again, Lindor singled for his second hit & third RBI of the game.
On the Sunday Night Baseball series finale, the Mets faced old teammate Zack Wheeler. With the help of sloppy Phillie's fielding the Mets got to Wheeler in the 1st inning.
The Mets swept the Phillies burying them 10.5 games behind them in the standings.
On May 30th, the Mets were riding high 8.5 games in first place (32-17) with the best record they ever had on Memorial Day in franchise history. Lindor would have a three hit, multi- two RBI game.
In the bottom of the 1st, the Mets had three straight singles, with Lindor's bringing the Mets 1st run. It was the eighth straight game he had now driven in a run.
In the 3rd inning, Lindor added another RBI single giving him 40 on the season. He also stole his seventh base in the game as well.
On May 31st, Buck Schowalter's Mets were 33-17 & won their fifth straight game after a10-0 blowout of the Nationals.
Francisco extended his RBI streak to a personal nine games, with his 5th inning two run single scoring two runs, giving him 42 RBIs on the season, second in the NL to teammate Pete Alonso.
Mets Record- RBIs in Ten Straight Games: On June 1st in a 5-0 Mets win at Citi Field, Lindor extended his RBI streak, to ten games driving in a run in the 7th inning, on a line drive sac fly to centerfield, scoring Tomas Nido.
Mets Trivia: Lindor had now t
ied Mike Piazza (1999) for the second longest RBI streak in Mets history, driving in runs in ten straight games. Piazza's 15 game RBI streak in 2000 is still the longest in franchise history.
In the ten games Lindor had 15 hits with two HRs, two doubles, two triples, 11 runs scored & 20 RBIs. It was the longest RBI streak in the majors that season.
He was now tied for second in NL in RBIs (43) to his teammate Pete Alonso (47). His hitting earned him the NL Player of the Week Award.
only game he missed all season.
Multi- Four RBI Games: On June 17th at Citi Field, Lindor hit his 10th HR of the season, a three-run shot off Pablo Lopez.
Later in the 6th inning, he was hit by a pitch, with the bases loaded for his fourth RBI of the game. Pete Alonso followed with a grand slam HR in the 10-4 win.
In the top of the 6th with the bases loaded he hit a three run double off the centerfield wall leading the Mets to the 5-3 victory & his third multi- four or more RBI game.
Overall, in June he struggled batting just .202 but came back in July to hit .320 with 32 hits.
From July 7th to August 3rd, he would hit safely in 21 of 22 games, batting .337 with six HRs, five doubles, 15 runs scored & 17 RBIs. The Mets were 15-7 in that time going up 3.5 games in first place.
Multi- Three RBI Game: On July 13th in Atlanta, Lindor hit his 16th HR of the season, a three-run shot off the Braves Charlie Morton in a 7-3 Mets win.
Run Scored in 13 Straight Games: From July 30th to August 10th, Lindor scored at least one run in 13 straight games, tying a franchise record set by David Wright in 2008. The Mets were 10-2 in those games building their first-place lead to seven games.
On August 6th, the Mets swept an important double header with the Braves at Citi Field. In the first game Lindor collected three hits with three RBIs in the 8-5 win. It was the ninth time he drove in three or more runs in a regular season game that year.
On August 9th & August 10th Lindor had back-to-back multi-RBI games driving in two runs each time in wins over the Reds. In the August 10th win he matched a season high with three runs scored. He would do that six times on the year.
In the month of August, Lindor had ten multi-hit games with 32 hits but only drove in two runs in the last ten games of the month. The Mets saw their lead dwindle down to three games at the end of the month & they would lose three straight in early September as the Braves tied them for the NL East lead.
On September 7th, in a double header sweep in Pittsburgh, he had a multi-three RBI game in the night cap, collecting two doubles with two a walk. The much-needed wins put the Mets up a half game in first place.
From September 10th to September 20th, Lindor hit four HRs driving in ten runs, as the Mets
went 8-3 in that time, holding a one game first place lead.
Most Single Season HRs by Mets Short Stop: On September 15th, Lindor hit a 3rd inning HR off the Pirates JT Brubaker for his 24th HR of the season, setting a new Mets single season record. The RBIs gave him a new career high as well with 94.
Grand Slam HR:
On September 20th in Milwaukee, in the top of the 7th inning with the Mets down 4-3, Lindor hit his fifth career grand slam HR, coming off the Brewers Taylor Rogers leading to a 7-5 Mets win. The win kept the Mets 2.5 games ahead of the Braves in the standings as they took two of three.
On September 25th, he drove in three runs in a 13-4 win at Oakland but then would not drive in a run in the next six games. The Mets lost fur of five including a series sweep in Atlanta knocking them out of first place & deflating their season.
Although the Mets won their final three games & ended up tied with the Braves, they won the tie breaker with one more regular season win.
Multi- Three RBI Game: On October 5th, Lindor had his 26th multi- RBI game of the season, the 12th game where he drove in three or more runs as he drove in three in the 9-2 win over the Nat's.
On the season, Lindor drove in a career high 107 runs (3rd most in the NL). He played in 161 games, with 170 hits (7th most in the NL) batting .270 with 26 HRs 25 doubles five triples (4th in the NL) & 98 runs scored (10th in the NL).
Lindor stole 16 bases in 22 attempts & had seven sac flies (6th most in the NL). He struck out 133 times, walked 59 times, posted a .339 on base % & .788 OPS.
At short stop he led the NL in put outs (198) with 385 assists (2nd in the NL) with a .985 fielding % (3rd in the NL) playing in 159 games there (3rd most in the NL).
2022 Post Season: In the NLWC loss to the Padres, Lindor hit just .200 (2-12). In the Mets Game #2 win, Lindor collected both hits with a 1st inning solo HR off Blake Snell.
HRs in Back-to-Back Games: On April 12th & April 14th, Lindor hit HRs in back-to-back games for the first time on the season. He would hit HRs in back-to-back games six different times on the season.
career day driving in seven runs matching a career high. In the top of the 2nd inning, he hit his sixth career grand slam HR, coming off James Kaprielian in the Mets six-run inning. In the top of the 5th, Lindor hit a three run, bases clearing double putting the Mets up 12-3.
On April 16th, Francisco came to bat in the top of the 10th inning with the Mets & A's tied up at three. He hit the game winning HR with a solo shot off Zach Jackson, for his fourth HR of the season.
On April 27th, Lindor drove in three runs in a 9-8 win over Washington at Citi Field. In the 4th inning he hit a two run double & added another RBI double later in the 6th inning.
On May 12th, he cleared the bases with a three-run single driving in all three runs of the 3-2 win in D.C.
Walk Off Hit: On May 19th Lindor had a three-hit walk off game against his former Cleveland team. The Mets came to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning down 9-7. Mark Vientos & Francisco Alvarez both had RBI singles to tie the game. Lindor then collected the walk off single with a base hit off Emmanuel Chase scoring Alvarez in the win.
Multi- Four RBI Game: On May 26th, in a 5-2 win at Colorado, Lindor had his second game of the season where he drove in four or more runs. In the 1st inning, he hit a two run HR off Connor Seabold then added an RBI single & sac fly later in the win over the Rockies.
On May 28th & May 30th he homered in back-to-back games for the second time. On May 30th,
his solo HR off the Phillies Ranger Suarez was one of two Mets runs in Kodai Senga (7 innings) Adam Ottovino (1) & David Robertson's (1) combined 2-0 shut out.At the end of May the Mets were 29-27 four games out of first place. A poor June of going 8-19 put them under .500 for goo & out of contention in what became a very disappointing season.
Multi- Five RBI Game: On June 19th in an 11-1 Mets win in Houston, Lindor hit a three run HR off Hunter Brown for his 14th HR of the season. In the top of the 9th, he collected a two run double giving him a five RBI game. He had also homered in the previous game, a loss to St. Louis making it the third time he homered in back-to-back games.
200th Career HR: On June 27th in a 7-2 win at Citi Field, Francisco hit a two run HR off the Brewers Julio Teheran in the bottom of the 4th inning, for his 200th career milestone HR.
It was the sixth time during the season where he drove in three or more runs. The win was the Mets sixth in a row, their longest of the season. July was the team's best month going 14-9, although they were still five games under .500.Trivia: Lindor became the first Mets short stop to drive in seven runs & became the 13th player in franchise history to drive in seven or more runs in a game.From August 14th to August 27th, Francisco had a 13-game hit streak, collecting 19 hits batting .359 with four doubles, two HRs & nine RBIs. It was the longest hit streak for a Mets player on the season & the second longest of his career.
On August 14th in a 7-2 win over the Pirates at Citi Field, Francisco hit his 21st double of the season & stole his 20th base, swiping third base in the 5th inning. From August 16th thru August 19th, he drove in a run in four straight games.
Four Hit Game & Steal of Home Plate: On August 19th in a 13-2 win at St. Louis, he went 4-5 with an RBI while hitting his 23rd double of the season.
In the top of the 1st, as Pete Alonso struck out, Lindor was part of a double steal, breaking from third base & sliding in safely stealing home. In the 8th inning he singled off Andrew Suarez with the bases loaded, a Cardinal error led to all three runs scoring, although he earned just one RBI.
On August 21st, Lindor hit a three run HR off the Braves Brad Hand in a 10-4 Mets win in Atlanta.
30/30 Club & Multi- HR Double Header: On September 27th, in a double header split with the Marlins in South Florida, Lindor hit three HRs with six RBIs in the twin bill. He became the 23rd Met in franchise history to hit HRs in both ends of a double header as well as joining the exclusive 30/30 club.
In the 3rd inning of the first game win, Lindor hit a two run HR off the Marlins Braxton Garrett for his 38th of the season, he then collected a two-run single in the 7th inning.
In the nightcap Francisco had his only multi-HR game of the season. In the 4-2 loss, he drove in both Mets runs as he homered twice off Johnny Cueto.
In the 4th inning his solo HR was his 30th HR of the year, having him reach the 30/30 club with 30 HRs & 30 stolen bases. Lindor became just the fourth Met joining David Wright, Howard Johnson & Darryl Strawberry to reach the exclusive 30/30 mark.
It was also the fourth time in his career he reached thirty HRs, the first time since the 2019 season.
On September 30th, he hit his final HR of the season, a two-run shot off Michael Plassmeyer for his 31st of the season. The two RBIs gave him his 23rd multi-RBI game of the season.
Season Stats & Silver Slugger Award: On the season, Lindor hit .254 with 153 hits & a team leading 33 doubles. Lindor would earn his third Silver Slugger Award as well.
He was second on the club to Pete Alonso with 31 HRs & 98 RBIs. For the first time in his career, he hit more HRs from the right side (16) than batting left-handed (15).
Francisco stole a career high thirty-one bases (7th most in the NL) & scored 108 runs (7th most in the NL) the most in his first three years in New York. Lindor hit two triples, struck out 137 times walked 66 times with a .336 on base % & .806 OPS. His seven sac flies were ninth most in the NL.
At short he played a league best 123 games, leading the NL in assists (396). He posted a .981 fielding % making 11 errors & turning 98 double plays. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award & was ninth in the league's MVP voting.
In October Lindor underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.
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