NEW YORK – Katia Lindor closed her eyes and began to pray.
When he opened himself up, the ball off the bat of Francisco Lindor was in the air — and headed for the right-center field fence. “Come, come,” he told himself as the ship continued. Finally, the ball went over the fence and into the visiting bullpen. Pandemonium ensued around him, a blur of fans in orange and blue bouncing up and down making the ground shake.
He started crying.
“It’s like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders where it’s like, people finally appreciate him, and they see his value,” said Lindor’s wife. “I think they’re starting to see it beyond the field, even on the field. I’m proud of him. I’m in awe of him every day. His hard work never ends. He doesn’t do that.” take his responsibility and his role lightly.”
Lindor’s sixth-inning slam was perhaps the greatest home run in Citi Field’s short history, and perhaps the best swing of his life. Last Wednesday, the hit put the Mets on the board, gave them the lead and accounted for their entire offense in a 4-1 victory that eliminated the rival Phillies from the postseason and sent New York to the National League Championship Series. for the first time since 2015.
The series grand slam — a true legend moment for Queens — also served as a metaphor for everything Lindor means to the Mets organization.
“I want to win it all. I want to win it all,” Lindor said. “And ours will be a team that will always be remembered. This will be a team that comes every 10 years and eats for free everywhere they go. And I want to do that. I want to do that. But the work is not done. .”
Mets president of baseball David Stearns, red-eyed from champagne and hysteria, said that anyone who has watched Lindor rise in stressful situations this year has the feeling that he will be the one to deliver the big hit in a tight Game 4 of the NLDS.
“I don’t know if there’s another baseball player you want at the plate right now in that situation,” Stearns said.
Just nine days ago, which may feel like nine weeks in October, Lindor pitched a go-ahead, two-run eight inning against the Braves to close out the Mets’ playoff spot. Over the next week, Lindor kept getting on base to set up key runs for his teammates, including Pete Alonso’s ninth-inning three-run blast in the wild-card game win against the Brewers and Mark Vientos’ ninth-inning blast. two runs tied Game 2 of the NLDS against Philadelphia. It’s hard to believe that Lindor’s grand slam on a 100 mph offering from Carlos Estévez was his first home run of the postseason given how much of a role he played in every win.
“The whole time, I was like, this is who we are,” manager Carlos Mendoza said he was thinking as Citi Field erupted. “This is part of the story. This is part of the book, the movie, whatever you want to call it. When he connected on that ball, I just wanted [Lindor] to enjoy it.”
“I don’t remember raising my hands. But my hands were in the air,” Alonso said of his reaction to Lindor’s slam. “Just unbelievable swing. I mean that was the swing of a lifetime. That’s what you do in the backyard, as a kid growing up.”
It’s not hyperbole to say that the shortstop has led every step of the way — from an 0-5 start to the season to going 11 games under .500 in late May and being robbed of an All-Star Game — in the Mets’ improbable . odyssey in the NLCS. Lindor’s attention to detail and ability to stay on top of things under pressure are just a few of the reasons his teammates describe him as killer, consistent, their MVP, their leader and their captain. Stearns said Lindor, 30, has planned his whole life to do what he did Wednesday night at Citi Field.
His latest act of leadership came not in the sixth inning but the ninth, after Edwin DÃaz had hit his first two pitches on ten pitches. The struggling Mets were walking down the stretch to take a three-run lead when hitting coach Jeremy Hefner called a visit to the mound.
DÃaz tried to pump himself up by repeating, “Let’s go, let’s go.” That’s when Lindor reached DÃaz’s ear: “You can say, ‘let’s go,'” Lindor told him. “Just do it.”
Suddenly, DÃaz, who had been struggling to get, locked in and threw his 99 mph fastballs where he wanted them — blasting them past pinch-hitter Kody Clemens for a strikeout. After a flyout, DÃaz quickly got past Kyle Schwarber in the postseason before striking him out with a 101 mph heater to shut the door on the NL East champions’ season.
As the Mets dugout filled the field, something wonderful followed: Instead of rushing to the mound, the entire Mets lineup ran to where Lindor was standing in the infield mess and covered him in a hug. Then, and after that, his expressionless face disappeared. He smiled, he cried, he laughed, he looked around the Citi Field crowd and took it all in.
“We’re blessed to do this in front of the fans,” a red-eyed Lindor told FOX’s Tom Verducci. “We just keep going up. My at-bat wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the guys in front of me. Today I drove in the runs, but it could have been anybody.”
But it could have been Lindor, and it allowed long-suffering fans to see a winning streak in Flushing for the first time since 2000.
“Great ballplayers do great things,” Mets owner Steve Cohen said of Lindor’s slam. “The bases were loaded. It was a big time, so I was standing up. You knew something was going to happen.”
As has been his style this fall, Lindor was straight and locked in as he rounded the bases following his home run. Somehow, she was the only one keeping it together while the other Queens were losing their minds. Forward Jesse Winker described Lindor as a “cold killer.” Lindor’s subdued reaction is a departure from the explosive, celebratory displays he often displayed in his previous seasons with Cleveland. A few teammates asked Lindor about it, and he told them he wouldn’t celebrate until the job was done, until the Mets got to the World Series.
Just 24 hours earlier, Lindor said this was the calmest he’d felt in his six trips to the playoffs.
“I don’t know, for some reason my reaction this year wasn’t that great,” said Lusbi. “I don’t know if it has to do with being tired or if it has to do with trying to stay in the moment, that I don’t have the craziness that I usually have. It’s just, I’m in trouble. It’s a good place right now to live the life I’ve always wanted.”
So are the Mets.
As the team celebrated on the field wearing black T-shirts topped with champagne, one fan held up a sign that read, “Believe in miracles.” One reads “DESTINY” in orange text. That’s what the 2024 Mets are all about: a tight end team above all else. When spring training rolled around, the Mets had a 2.2% chance of winning the NLCS, according to FanGraphs’ playoff odds. That same projection system gave them a 1% chance of winning the World Series. Now, the Mets have eight wins.
Stearns had few choice words for those who criticized the Mets’ core — led by Lindor, Alonso and Brandon Nimmo — and questioned whether they could win the big games.
“I think they have shown that it is bull****,” he said. “This core has been winning games since June 1. So, we can put that to bed right now.”
And yet, Mendoza asserted afterward that the Mets, who actually have the best record in baseball since June 1, haven’t done anything yet. Lindor said he’s not even close to being satisfied. The Mets are enjoying the moment, no doubt. But they are still hungry, and that should be a scary sign for their next opponent. The Mets enter the NLCS as perhaps the most consistent team in baseball.
“This is what I wanted. I came here to play winning baseball and get a chance to try to win the World Series,” said Lindor, whose play has propelled the Mets further than anyone outside their clubhouse. “We have to keep going up.”
Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. He previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow him on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]
Find out more about Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about sports, news and more