There is still an entire month left of the Major League Baseball season, but as the numbers stand, Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor seem to be in a two-man race for this season’s National League MVP.
There is no player in the NL who has been more valuable to their team than Lindor has been to the New York Mets. Lindor started off the season slow, but has thrived ever since the manager, Carlos Mendoza, moved him to the leadoff spot in the Mets’ batting order. Lindor’s stat line is fantastic this season: he is slashing .274/.343/.501 with 30 home runs, 84 RBIs, 38 doubles, 26 steals, and 98 runs scored. Lindor has also played in every game this season for the Mets while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at his premier position at shortstop.
“I think he looks like the guy who runs out to shortstop every day for us at 7 o’clock,” the Mets’ president of baseball operations, David Stearns, said. “It’s been an unbelievable season to watch. 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.”
Stearns is no stranger to what an MVP’s season should look like as he was the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018 when Christan Yelich was awarded MVP honors. Stearns said that it is hard to measure the impact that Lindor has on the Mets’ clubhouse, but it is a lot of what he brings to the table on an everyday basis.
“I’ve been around some really special seasons,” Stearns explained. “I’ve been around some MVP seasons. This is right up there with everything that I’ve seen on a day-to-day basis.”
Since May 21, Lindor has been first in the league in batting average (.314), first in hits (121), first in extra-base hits (54) and tied for second with 23 home runs. At just 30-years-old, Lindor has hit 30 or more home runs in five different seasons. Only Alex Rodriguez, who has seven, has done that more times as a shortstop.
As for Ohtani, he is having a monster offensive season. In 135 games this season, Ohtani has slashed .290/.375/.613 with 44 home runs, 99 RBI and 46 stolen bases. Ohtani has a legitimate chance to become the first player in MLB history to have a 50/50 season. But one thing that clouds Ohtani’s case for MVP is that he has not pitched this season, which was a big factor that added to his MVP case in years past. Ohtani won’t pitch until 2025 after recovering from elbow surgery last September, so he has been strictly a designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, focusing on just one side of the game.
As the Mets are playing their best baseball, Lindor is playing his best as well. Ohtani has been nothing short of incredible in his first season with the Dodgers and there is nothing to diminish that. However, in the end, Ohtani has only played DH this season while Lindor is a daily shortstop on a team that has had 23 games over .500 since they hit rock bottom against the Dodgers on May 29. Both Ohtani and Lindor are game changers and have impacted their teams like no other this season.
Being a leader comes naturally for Lindor and he brings a presence that cannot be taught. Lindor is the switch-hitting, every single day type of guy, who is one of, if not the most complete player, the franchise has ever had.
“It’s so clear that this is home now,” Mendoza said. “New York is home, and all he has to do is concentrate on being the best version of himself — at the plate, and playing an elite shortstop for the New York Mets — and being the leader of this team. That’s something I’ve never asked him to do, by the way. It just comes naturally to him, that kind of presence. And his teammates feed off it, I can tell you that.”
Mendoza continued, saying, “I know there are a lot of great players doing a lot of great things for their teams this season. But what this man has done for this franchise is off the charts, and that means both on and off the field. When a special player is also a special person, in terms of his commitment and dedication, that is a pretty awesome combination.
Citi Field gets loud, and it will only get louder through September as the “MVP” chants for Lindor continue, and for good reason.