For most of the summer, the NL MVP race seemed like it was a one-man show with Shohei Ohtani leading. Francisco Lindor has now made it a competitive discussion.
With his impressive leadership and consistent excellence on both offense and defense, Lindor, the shortstop for the New York Mets, is putting up a strong challenge against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
“I’m glad that I don’t have to vote,” Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said this week at Citi Field. “It’ll be interesting. The kid is doing everything.”
Cora, who has known Lindor and his family since Lindor was a Little Leaguer in Puerto Rico, still calls the 30-year-old star “kid.” Despite being ten seasons into his remarkable major league career, Lindor plays with youthful enthusiasm.
However, his performance is far from inexperienced as he plays a crucial role in the Mets’ intense playoff race in the National League.
“Every time he’s at the plate, we feel good about our chances,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He’s locked in right now.” “He’s got a hard job. Playing shortstop for the New York Mets is not an easy job,” Mendoza added.
“And the way he’s doing it on an elite level, both sides of the ball, whether it’s defensively, offensively, baserunning, and the impact in the locker room, the impact in the organization — so yeah, we’re talking about a special guy here.”
With his entrance music “My Girl” by The Temptations, Lindor is batting .365 with six home runs, eight doubles, 12 RBIs, and 15 runs during a 15-game hitting streak, which matches his career best. He has also reached base in a career-high 33 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors.
This strong performance is no coincidence as the Mets (76-64) have won seven straight games and are now tied with the Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild card spot.
This is a significant turnaround for a team that was 11 games under .500 in early June. Now, Lindor is greeted with “MVP! MVP!” chants every night at Citi Field.
“I feel the love from the fans,” Lindor said Tuesday after hosting kids at the ballpark for his regular charity event promoting dental hygiene.
“But, I’ve got to win. I’ve got to win. I’ve got to win. I’ve got to win. I’ve got to be in the postseason. And I think that’s what the fans are demanding, and that’s what I want.”
Lindor offers much more than just offensive stats, which is where the MVP conversation really heats up.
The impressive Shohei Ohtani is hitting .290 with 44 home runs, 99 RBIs, 111 runs, and a .988 OPS in 137 games during his first season with the NL West-leading Dodgers (84-56), after signing a $700 million contract as a free agent.
He leads the NL in home runs, runs, slugging (.613), total bases (334), and OPS. The Japanese star is aiming to join Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as one of the few players to win an MVP award in both leagues.
With 46 stolen bases and 44 home runs, Ohtani is close to achieving the first 50/50 season in MLB history with 22 games remaining.
Lindor’s batting numbers, while impressive, don’t quite match up to Ohtani’s. After a rough start to the season where he was batting .190 on May 18 and faced some boos at home, Lindor is now hitting .274 with 30 home runs, 84 RBIs, 98 runs, 26 steals, and an .844 OPS.
However, Lindor also provides reliable and sometimes exceptional defense at a crucial position. In the third year of a $341 million, 10-year contract, he has played in all 140 games for New York, starting 139 at shortstop.
“It’s part of my contract to show up and be here every single day and I take a lot of pride in that,” he said.
“I love being able to post up. I love to be consistent, not only on the playing field but how I treat people and how I walk around and who I am as a person. … And if I win MVP, it would be a dream — but I want to win a World Series.”
Ohtani won AL MVP awards in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way player with the Los Angeles Angels.
But he’s not pitching this season while recovering from another elbow surgery, so his defensive contributions are not a factor this year.
No primary designated hitter, except for Ohtani when he was also pitching, has ever won an MVP award. Don Baylor, for example, started 65 games as a DH for the 1979 Angels and played 97 games in the outfield.
Lindor currently leads Ohtani with 7.3 compared to 6.6 in total Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to the FanGraphs formula. However, Ohtani leads with 7.0 compared to 6.3 on Baseball-Reference.com.
It’s much harder to measure qualities like leadership. “You can see how he went from zero to 100,” said young Mets third baseman Mark Vientos about Lindor.
“Seeing him come to the field every day, working so hard, makes me think, ‘If the franchise guy is working that hard, why shouldn’t I be working hard?’ He’s made me better this season and has been a big part of my success.”
Lindor called a players-only meeting after a tough loss to the Dodgers on May 29. During that meeting, the Mets discussed their issues, focused on staying positive, preparing effectively, and working together as a team.
Since then, with Lindor leading the way, the Mets have the best record in the majors at 54-31.
“It’s easy to measure what he does on the field, and that’s impressive. It’s much harder to measure his impact through his words and actions,” said Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
“He works hard, takes pride in his own preparation, and makes sure his teammates are prepared. It’s the whole package that contributes so much to the organization.”
As Cora put it: “He’s just a significant presence. There’s something about him that not many players have at the major league level. From his walk-up song — which gets the crowd going — to his smile, energy, commitment, structure, and discipline. He’s got everything right.”
“He’s learned the hard way here in New York,” Cora added. “Right now, he’s the guy for them. Everything revolves around him. This year, he has really put it all together.”
