It’s been established multiple times on these interweb pages that I think Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is a terrific baseball player. For whatever reason, there are many people mad online about that and the $341 million contract he signed to stay in New York for the foreseeable future.
But, hey — facts are facts, and stats are stats. After breaking a trio of franchise shortstop records in 2022, Lindor is having another solid performance in 2023. Many will point to his .251 batting average and say he sucks. But if you look at everything else, he should be a frontrunner to win the NL Silver Slugger Award at shortstop. His case to bring home that hardware for the third time in his career will only strengthen if he joins the 30-homer/30-steal club by season’s end.
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As the Mets prepare for a weekend series in Minnesota, Lindor is currently sitting at 26 homers and 26 steals. While his eyes are set on 30-30, what he’s already accomplished is significant. His next homer will break his own single-season Mets shortstop record, and he’s already registered a single-season career-high mark for steals.
New York is out of contention and focusing on 2024. So, this accomplishment is definitely on Lindor’s mind as the season winds down. Here’s what he said before hitting home run no. 25 (via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo):
“I want it,” Lindor said before hitting his 25h homer in the Mets’ 8-7 loss to the Mariners on Friday. “Pray for me. Put good vibes for me out to the world.”
So what’s going to make Lindor’s haters mad? He’s obviously already in the 25-25 club. It’s the second time he’s done it in his career, but the first time he’s done it in Queens. He’s the first Mets player to accomplish the feat since Carlos Beltran in 2008:
25/25 season for Francisco Lindor!
He’s the first Met to accomplish this feat since Carlos Beltrán in 2008.
Lindor is also the fifth player in #Mets history to have 25 doubles, 25 homers & 25 stolen bases in a single season! pic.twitter.com/gtXGYYvHRB
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 3, 2023
But, getting to 30-30 is an ever rarer occurrence. It’s happened five times in franchise history by a total of three players:
- Darryl Strawberry, 1987 (39 homers, 36 steals)
- Howard Johnson, 1987 (36 homers, 32 steals)
- Howard Johnson, 1989 (36 homers, 41 steals)
- Howard Johnson, 1991 (38 homers, 30 steals)
- David Wright, 2007 (30 homers, 34 steals)
Obviously, Lindor would also be the first primary shortstop in franchise history to reach this milestone if he can get there. We’re pulling for him because it’ll be a cool accomplishment. Plus, it’ll be an added bonus if it makes the haters mad online about it.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
