Credit: Frank Becerra Jr.
“It’s a great day to be a New York Met,” echoed a familiar face in the home team clubhouse following Sunday afternoon’s 10-3 drubbing of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With a two-homer game, Francisco Lindor increased his now team-leading total to three home runs on the season, one in which the Mets now hold a league-best record of 6-2.
After a slow start to 2021, the first year of a mammoth 10-year, $341 million contract, Lindor has stormed out of the gates to begin 2022. Through one week, Lindor has posted an OPS of 1.161, to go along with eight runs batted in and two stolen bases.
Last season, Lindor’s first month could hardly have gone any worse, especially considering the expectations he held upon arriving from Cleveland. By the end of last April, Lindor was slashing an uncharacteristic .182/.297/.234, with just one homer and three RBIs in 93 plate appearances.
It was a difficult adjustment for Lindor, who immediately was tasked with bringing life back to the middle of the order in Queens. While jeers from the crowd were a story of 2021, the home opener on Friday brought a completely different — and more positive — reaction toward the star shortstop.
“It felt great to be able to hear my home crowd cheer me on,” said a smiling Lindor. “It’s special. I thank [the fans] for coming out today. We play for them.”
The slugger’s two-run blast into the Coca Cola Corner in the fifth inning opened up the game for the Mets, extending their lead to 5-0. But it was Lindor’s second moonshot of the afternoon which absolutely sent the crowd of over 43,000 diehards into a frenzy.
In putting the exclamation mark on the Mets huge day at the plate, Lindor followed up Starling Marte‘s first homer as a Met with a ball sent over the left field wall. In fact, this was no coincidence. Lindor noted to team reporter Steve Gelbs that he carefully watched from the on-deck circle the way Marte conducted his at-bat. Specifically, Marte’s patience at the plate intrigued — and inspired — Lindor, notably in the fifth inning.
“The second home run, I had a two-strike approach, and [it led to] good results,” said Lindor, when asked about his thought process behind his plate discipline. “I thank the good lord.”
As Lindor continues to heat up, his notable improvement has been noted with clear sight by first-year skipper Buck Showalter.
“He likes baseball a lot,” Showalter said. “He’s very sharp; the young man is fun to debate the game with. He’s engaged all the time in the competition.”
While it’s been a very short sample size, Lindor may have turned a real page in his next chapter as a New York Met. 2021 may have been rough, but as Showalter pointed out, the Mets fan base has been waiting to embrace Lindor in a moment like Friday’s.
“Missouri is the ‘Show Me’ state,” Showalter said. “New York is the ‘Show Me’ city. [Lindor] is willing to take that on.”
