The New York Mets have worked their way back into playoff contention in the National League, and shortstop Francisco Lindor is a significant reason why.
Lindor might be the closest MVP contender to Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. He has been one of the league’s finest overall players since recovering from a disastrous start to the season in April.
His season has been so spectacular that Mets general manager David Stearns believes it could be one of the best seasons by a position player in the franchise’s history.
“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 extremely high praise for Lindor’s season, especially when considering the seasons of Mets position players such as Darryl Strawberry, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran throughout franchise history.
Lindor entered play on Tuesday with 6.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for the season, 0.2 more than his final mark for 2023. When the season is over, he should have a WAR of around 7.0 or 8.0. That would put you near the top of the Mets’ single-season all-time list.
Beltran and Wright both had individual seasons above 8.0 throughout their Mets careers.
Whether Lindor is having the best position player season in Mets history or not, it is unquestionably the finest season of any player on the team this year, and it is a major reason why the Mets are back in the playoff race.
