The chants are getting harder to ignore .
It first was heard at Chase Field in Arizona. Then at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. And, most recently, Citi Field in New York.
It seems that every time Francisco Lindor steps up to the plate nowadays, fans greet him with the same three letters: “M - V - P.” Night in and night out, the New York Mets shortstop has dazzled with his bat, glove and legs while leading his team on a late postseason push.
Entering play Wednesday, Lindor boasts a .273/.343/.500 slash line with 30 home runs, 84 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. Following the Mets’ 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night - in which the 30-year-old went 2-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBI - he extended his on-base streak to 32 games and hitting streak to 14 games.
With a 7.2 fWAR, Lindor leads the National League and ranks fourth in MLB behind Aaron Judge (9.7), Bobby Witt Jr (9.6) and Juan Soto (7.4). His 16 outs above average at shortstop, meanwhile, stands as the second most in the NL and fourth-most in the league.
In most years, Lindor’s utter dominance down the stretch would all-but guarantee him the MVP Award. This year, however, is not one of those years.
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Lindor is not rushing to make room in his trophy cabinet for yet another accolade - in large part due to the presence of Shohei Ohtani . The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar continues to perform hard-to-believe acts on the baseball diamond that this game has never seen, and is on pace to be crowned the first 50/50 player in MLB history.
Few would push back on the argument that Ohtani is a generational talent who is one of, if not the best active player in MLB. But is he the most valuable player?
The high-flying Dodgers - who actively have the most wins in the league at 84 - possess no shortage of star power on their stacked lineup, which features the likes of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez and Will Smith. Though Ohtani’s presence would certainly be missed, Los Angeles would likely still rank near the top of MLB standings if he never inked a record-breaking $700 million, 10-year contract with the club this offseason.
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The same can not be said about the Mets. Lindor is the engine that keeps his team running, with New York often living and dying by his performances.
For evidence, look no further than Lindor’s splits in wins and losses. In games that the Mets have won this season, the star shortstop has recorded an astounding 1.092 OPS. In games that New York has lost, this number drops all the way down to .542.
Dating back to July 9, the Mets have earned wins in each of the last 12 games that Lindor has homered in. “Every time he’s at the plate, we feel good about our chances,” manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters. “He’s locked in right now.”
On the heels of their sixth-straight win on Tuesday, the Mets sit half a game behind the Atlanta Braves for the final wild card spot in the National League. If Lindor is able to propel New York to a playoff berth, it begs the question: “where would they be without him?”
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