Manager Carlos Mendoza echoed most other logical baseball followers after his shortstop, Francisco Lindor, hit two home runs and drove in five on Saturday night in the New York Mets’ 7-1 victory over the San Diego Padres
“We’re witnessing greatness here,” Mendoza said (h/t SNY). “He’s one of the best players in the game. I think a lot of the time, people take for granted what he’s able to do day in and day out. That’s not easy.”
It is well past the time to put Lindor in the National League MVP conversation, though Shohei Ohtani’s brilliant 40-40 resume out west with the Dodgers is likely uncatchable for any other hopeful. However, the Mets’ superstar has been exactly that during the club’s revolution from bottom-dweller in May to in the thick of the playoff hunt with five weeks to go in the regular season.
Since May 21, Lindor’s .311 average and .947 OPS lead the National League. His 107 hits rank second behind Luis Arraez of the Padres, his 26 doubles rank third, his 20 home runs rank sixth, and his 56 RBI rank seventh.
He is on pace to join Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals this season as the first shortstops ever to record multiple 30-30 seasons with 27 home runs, 25 stolen bases, an .830 OPS, and a career-best 135 OPS-plus. His fWAR of 6.5 this season is the best mark in the National League while his OFF (Fangraphs’ park-adjusted stat combining batting runs above average and base running runs above average) of 28.7 ranks fourth and his DEF (fielding runs and positional adjustment) of 14.7 ranks second.
Baseball Savant further proves just how good of an all-around player Lindor is as his batting run value (91st), baserunning run value (88th), and fielding run value (96th) all rank within the top 12 percentiles in Major League Baseball this season.
As a comparison, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge — an obvious lock to win the AL MVP Award — is in the 100th percentile in batting run value as he pursues 62 home runs yet again this season, but his baserunning run value is in the 36th percentile and his fielding run value is in the 19th percentile. Ohtani’s batting run value is in the 99th percentile but the Los Angeles designated hitter’s baserunning run value is in the 53rd.
“He needs to be in the [MVP] conversation,” Mendoza said. “He’s right there with anybody in the league. I know there are some other guys who are having a really good year, but he’s right there with him.”
It is no coincidence that the Mets’ success has followed Lindor’s brilliant run. Since May 21, only the defending NL-champion Arizona Diamondbacks (52), Padres (49), and Milwaukee Brewers (48) have more wins than New York’s 47 as they remain within reach of the Atlanta Braves for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
“I have to continue to move forward and climb the mountain,” Lindor said. “We have a month and a few more days left in the season, we know where we are, and the bigger goal here is to be in the postseason. That’s extremely in front of me.”
