The New York Mets have played their way back into playoff contention in the National League and shortstop Francisco Lindor is one of the biggest reasons why.
Lindor might be the closest MVP competition for Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. He has been one of the best overall players in the league after rebounding from a dreadful start to the season in April.
His season has been so good that Mets general manager David Stearns said it might be one of the best seasons a position player has ever had in the history of the Mets franchise.
“It’s been an unbelievable season to watch,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday, per Jorge Castillo of ESPN. “We’re getting to the point, I think, 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.”
That is extraordinarily high praise for Lindor’s season, especially when you consider some of the seasons Mets position players have had in franchise history including Darryl Strawberry, David Wright and Carlos Beltran.
Lindor entered play on Tuesday with a 6.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for the season, which was 0.2 higher than his final mark for the 2023 season. He figures to be close to a 7.0 or maybe even 8.0 WAR player when the season ends. That would be near the top of the Mets’ single-season all-time leaders.
Beltran and Wright both finished with individual seasons above 8.0 in their Mets careers.
Whether or not Lindor is actually having the best position player season in Mets history, it is certainly the best season of any player on the team this year — and a big reason why they are back in the playoff race.
