QUEENS, NY — When Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was asked what the most valuable player looks like, he did not miss a beat referring to Francisco Lindor.
“I think he looks like the guy who runs out to shortstop at 7 o’clock,” Stearns said on Tuesday prior to his team’s clash against the Boston Red Sox. “It’s been an unbelievable season to watch. We’re getting to the point where we’re talking about perhaps the greatest individual position player season in the history of this franchise. I’ve been around some really special seasons, been around some MVP seasons.
“This is right up there with anything I’ve seen on a day-to-day basis.”
Lindor is having his best season since joining the Mets in 2021, slashing .271/.342/.493 (.835 OPS) with 29 home runs, 81 RBI, and 25 stolen bases. The only other season in his career that remotely challenges this kind of all-around production was in 2016 when he posted an .871 OPS with 38 home runs, 92 RBI, and 25 stolen bases.
The 30-year-old needs just one more home run and five more stolen bases (entering Tuesday night) to become the first shortstop in MLB history to post multiple 30/30 seasons, which would come in consecutive seasons.
Only three Mets in franchise history have posted 30/30 seasons with an OPS over .830: Howard Johnson (three times), Darryl Strawberry in 1987, and David Wright in 2007.
His big year has been fueled by a 91-game stretch that eliminated a nightmarish start and became one of the largest sparkplugs for a Mets team that has turned its season around and is on the cusp of a postseason spot. Since May 21, Lindor — considered a marquee leader of the club — has been batting .310 with a .944 OPS, 22 home runs, and 59 RBI.
“That’s part of the entire package that he brings,” Stearns said. “It’s easy to quantify what he does, and that’s really impressive. It’s much harder to quantify the impact he has both on what he says and also by how he acts. He works so hard, he takes so much pride in his own preparation but also ensuring that his teammates prepare appropriately. It’s the entire package that I think allows him to contribute so much to the organization.”
A part of that entire package is superior defense that has him placed in MLB’s 95th percentile of fielding run value and the 99th percentile in outs above average (OAA) and Lindor is the most well-rounded player in the National League and has him in the MVP conversation alongside Los Angeles Dodgers slugging DH Shohei Ohtani, who is still a heavy favorite to win the award.
“He has a hard job,” his manager, Carlos Mendoza said. “Playing shortstop for the New York Mets is not an easy job and the way he’s doing it… there’s defensively, there’s offensively, there’s baserunning, and the impact in the locker room on the organization. We’re talking about a special guy here.”
