The Baseball Writer’s Association of America announced Francisco Lindor as a a finalist for National League Most Valuable Player on Monday. The other finalists are Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers and Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks. Lindor’s nomination comes as no surprise, as the shortstop delivered his best season in a Mets uniform. No Met has ever won the MVP Award. Keith Hernandez (1984), Darryl Strawberry (1988) and Tom Seaver (1969) were all runners-up.
Lindor’s Historic Season
After starting the season in a dismal 1-for-31 slump, the superstar ended the 2024 campaign batting .273/.344/.500, with 33 home runs, 107 runs scored, 91 RBIs, 39 doubles and 29 stolen bases. He produced a career-best 137 wRC+ and tied his career fWAR (7.8). His 7.8 fWAR was second-best in the NL and third-best in baseball by a shortstop. Lindor ranked 11th in baseball in expected weighted on-base average (.382), 13th in expected slugging (.539) and 18th in expected batting average (.287). According to Baseball Savant, he ranked in the 94th percentile in batting run value (31), 96th percentile in fielding run value (12) and 99th percentile in fielding range (16).
Lindor was infamously snubbed as a Gold Glove finalist after posting the 14th-best fielding run value in all of baseball. Dansby Swanson, Ezequiel Tovar and Masyn Winn, the three Gold Glove Finalists at shortstop, each posted fielding run values of 14, 11 and four, respectively.
Despite the snub, Lindor’s MVP nomination comes on the heels of a season that saw the shortstop produce clutch hit after clutch hit. His two most memorable hits, both home runs, came at the end of the season. The first, a go-ahead, two-run home run off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias, sent the Mets to October. The second, a go-ahead grand slam against Phillies reliever Carlos Estévez, sent the Mets to the NLCS. His leadership speaks for itself, rallying the team when the Mets seemed destined as sellers and were 11 games under .500. Even with a bad back, he encouraged his team from the bench, acting as a mentor and spark plug off the field. Without a doubt, Lindor led the 2024 team to one of the most memorable seasons in Mets history.
Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Bobby Witt Jr. are the AL MVP finalists.
Winners will be announced Thursday November 21.
